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China is in America’s sights as US defence increases its budget for Indo-Pacific deterrence
- The US defence budget has increased funds for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative by 8 per cent, even though the total defence budget rose just 1 per cent
- Experts have highlighted advanced submarine building and nuclear deterrence as the core concerns of the US Defence Department
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The US Pentagon turned up the pressure on Beijing in its 2025 budget request earlier this week, singling out an “increasingly aggressive” China as a major focus for its defence spending in the coming year.
Experts pointed to advanced submarine building and nuclear deterrence as the US Defence Department’s core concerns, with its 2025 budget request, published on Monday, identifying a key priority as “defend[ing] the homeland, with [China] as the department’s pacing challenge”.
It then increased the budget for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) from this year’s US$9.1 billion to US$9.9 billion in 2025 – a rise of 8 per cent – while the total defence budget grew by just 1 per cent.
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“This request will bolster our ability to defend our country, paced to the challenge posed by an increasingly aggressive People’s Republic of China,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
The PDI budget includes money for ballistic missile defence activities that contribute to developing and integrating a joint missile defence system to defend Guam against missile threats, as well as funding for exercises, training and experimentation activities, plus planning and design for military construction investments in the western Pacific.
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Austin added that he expected some funding may go towards the construction of new airstrips in the Pacific to avoid an overconcentration of forces.
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