Call Made to Congress for China War Plan
Call Made to Congress for China War Plan
As part of the Pentagon’s overall defense strategy to pivot to the Pacific, the U.S. should buy more Virginia-class attack submarines, prioritizing long-range anti-ship missiles, carrier-based drones, and missile defense technology, the analysts told the House Armed Services’ Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. Seth Cropsey, a senior fellow at The Hudson Institute, told the subcommittee that the U.S needs a detailed war plan for China in the event that conflict arises.
The defence guideline and military build-up plan, to be approved by the government next week, follow China’s declaration in November of a new air defence identification zone in an area that includes the disputed isles, triggering protests from Tokyo, as well as Washington and Seoul.
Leaders of South East Asian nations are in Japan for a summit likely to focus on China amid regional tensions. The three-day summit comes weeks after China’s declaration of a new air defence zone which overlaps areas claimed by Japan and South Korea. Japan will be looking to rally support from Asean nations, some of whom also have territorial disputes with China.
Gulf nations to create joint military command
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab neighbors wrapped up a summit meeting in Kuwait on Wednesday by agreeing to establish a joint military command, paving the way for tighter security coordination even as their regional rival Iran pursues outreach efforts in the wake of its interim nuclear deal. Saudi Arabia in particular sees a stronger Iran as a threat to its own influence, and it and other Gulf states are major backers of the rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose government is backed by Iran.
‘Global war beyond Persian Gulf’ likely if US hawks kill Iran deal
“It would be a war that might start in the Persian Gulf, but very rapidly become a much bigger war and potentially even a global war in which nuclear weapons are used,” he added. Steinberg made the comments one day after US Secretary of State John Kerry told members of Congress that an interim nuclear deal signed with Iran last month in Geneva “unequivocally” served US interests.