Pentagon strategy emphasizes China, Russia, says forces face increasing pressure

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A new defense strategy released Thursday by the Pentagon emphasized increasingly dire challenges posed by China and the ongoing "acute threats" from Russia, noting US forces are facing mounting tests.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pointed to China as the US' premier competitor, saying its increasing military strength poses long-term challenges for Washington. Beijing, he said, "remains our most consequential strategic competitor for the coming decades."

"I have reached this conclusion based on the PRC's (People’s Republic of China) increasingly coercive actions to reshape the Indo-Pacific region and the international system to fit its authoritarian preferences, alongside a keen awareness of the PRC's clearly stated intentions and the rapid modernization and expansion of its military," Austin wrote in a letter accompanying the unclassified version of the document.

While China is considered the US' most pressing challenge, the National Defense Strategy noted the "acute threat" that Russia continues to pose to Washington, which it said is "demonstrated most recently by Russia's unprovoked further invasion of Ukraine."

Austin told reporters at the Pentagon that the agency deliberately chose to characterize Russia as an "acute threat," because, he said, "unlike China, Russia can't systemically challenge the United States in the long term."

"But Russian aggression does pose an immediate and sharp threat to our interests and values, and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's reckless war of choice against Ukraine, the worst threat to European security since the end of World War II, has made that very clear for the whole world," he said.

The Pentagon said it would continue to support what it called "robust deterrence of Russian aggression against vital U.S. national interests, including our treaty Allies." It pointed in particular to NATO and other key partners that it will seek to jointly develop key capabilities while bolstering military interoperability.

"We cannot meet these complex and interconnected challenges alone," said the strategy. "Mutually-beneficial Alliances and partnerships are our greatest global strategic advantage -- and they are a center of gravity for this strategy."

The emphasis on a multilateral approach to the challenges faced by Washington comes as the strategy notes the increasingly complex security environment from transnational threats and climate change, which it said "will increasingly place pressure on the Joint Force and the systems that support it."