Pentagon bid to boost funding in Pacific seen as welcome move in region amid China ‘threat’

US Indo-Pacific Command said to be seeking US$15.3 billion for operations next year, warning of rapid Chinese military expansion

It comes as Beijing’s ‘muscular defence posture remains a global threat to great and middle powers in the region’, analyst says

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In the report, the US Indo-Pacific Command said the regional security environment was “becoming more dangerous and defined by an increasing risk of confrontation and crisis”. Photo: AP

Published: 7:00pm, 14 Mar 2023

The Pentagon’s move to boost spending in the Pacific is likely to be embraced by countries in the region as they seek to push back against an increasingly assertive Beijing, analysts say.

Those nations would have preferred a situation where China and the United States looked to de-escalate their rivalry but that was unlikely, according to John Bradford, a senior fellow with the maritime security programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore.

“Therefore, they generally welcome US posture changes that can deter Chinese attempts to change the status quo and reduce the likelihood of conflict,” he said.

The report recommended additional defence systems and equipment in Guam and Hawaii. Photo: AFP/US Navy/Conner D. Blake/Handout

The US Indo-Pacific Command last week proposed in a congressional mandated report that it would need US$15.3 billion to fund its operations in the Pacific next year, a significant jump from the US$9 billion recommended last year.

According to the report obtained by Politico, the command warned of China’s rapid military expansion and its efforts to “coerce” Washington’s allies in a bid to dominate the region. It called for another US$71.8 billion to be used over the next four years.

“The security environment in the Indo-Pacific is becoming more dangerous and defined by an increasing risk of confrontation and crisis,” it said. “The PLA’s rapid modernisation efforts embolden the [Chinese Communist Party] to defy long-standing international legal norms and engage in more provocative behaviour.”

The report was the command’s independent assessment of the activities and resources needed to maintain Washington’s comparative military advantage over China.

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