US Defence Department winds up China task force, keeping recommendations classified

Name: Biden says China won't become ‘the most powerful country’ on his watch
Uploaded: 2021-06-09T21:36:08.000Z
Duration: 2 min 50 s
Description: Biden says China won't become ‘the most powerful country’ on his watch

Pentagon spokesman says task force was meant to determine whether military strategy treats China as America’s ‘pacing challenge’

Some recommendations involve more education and proficiency about China

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US President Joe Biden addressing American service members at RAF Mildenhall in Britain on Wednesday. A Pentagon advisory panel Biden set up has finished its review of US military strategy toward China and made its recommendations. Photo: AP

Robert Delaney

Published: 5:36am, 10 Jun 2021Updated: 6:31am, 10 Jun 2021

An advisory body to the US Department of Defence established to make recommendations for ways to improve how the department carries out its China-related military strategy has wound up its business, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

Many of the task force’s recommendations, which were classified and thus not outlined, “are intended to streamline and strengthen cooperation with US allies and partners, particularly in the Indo-Pacific”, the department announced.

Led by Ely Ratner, a special assistant to Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, the ad hoc body, which was set up by the Biden administration as one of its first actions, assembled officials from each armed service division and the US intelligence community.

Its mission was “to conduct a baseline assessment of [the Pentagon’s] China-related programmes, policies, and processes” and to deliver “a set of top priorities and recommended courses of action” to Austin.

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Biden says China won't become ‘the most powerful country’ on his watch

US President Joe Biden announced the formation of the task force in February, during his first defence-focused address. In that speech to Pentagon staff, he characterised the rivalry between the US and China as “the competition of the future”, and warned about the “growing challenges” posed by Beijing.

Biden followed up several weeks later, in his first news conference as president, with a pledge to prevent China from becoming the world’s “leading” and “wealthiest” country by continuing to close ranks with allies and boosting America’s investment in technology.