The Pentagon Needs More Than Ships and Planes to Deter China

The Pentagon says its $715 billion budget request was designed with China — “the greatest long-term challenge to the United States” — in mind. As House and Senate appropriators hash out a final funding bill, they should remember that the short-term challenge matters too.

Over the past two decades, Chinese military capabilities have grown far more sophisticated. It’s no longer clear, for instance, that the U.S. could prevent a mainland takeover of Taiwan. If hostilities broke out, precise and powerful Chinese missiles would rain down on big U.S. bases in the region. Chinese cyber- and anti-satellite weapons would knock out U.S. commanders’ ability to see into the theater and communicate with their forces. Advanced air defenses would shoot U.S. aircraft out of the sky. Long-range ship-killer missiles would sink any lumbering aircraft carrier in the vicinity.