Under the pretext of a Chinese threat, the Pentagon received carte blanche in the Pacific. Now the United States is pulling its weapons to China, and the termination of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles has expanded the possibilities.
This was reported by Reuters.
Senior US retired officers note that the US can no longer consider itself the dominant military force in Asia, as it was before. In addition, the States cannot be sure of victory over China in the event of an armed clash off the coast of China.
“Last year, President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty gave US military strategists new opportunities. Almost immediately after leaving the pact on August 2, the administration made it clear that it would respond to China’s missile forces. The next day, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said he would like land-based missiles to be deployed in Asia within a few months, ” the publication said.
Referring to budget documents, the media reported that the US Marine Corps requested $ 125 million to buy 48 ground-based Tomahawk missiles next year. Senior Marine Commander Lt. Gen. Eric Smith also said that the Marines have successfully tested new anti-ship weapons of shorter range from a ground launcher. The next test will take place in June. If it is successful, then the Marine Corps is ready to order 36 such missiles in 2022.
In addition, the United States focuses on strategic bombers, in particular, on the B-21, which should go into service by 2025. Until then, the Pentagon has been working to increase the firepower of its aircraft based in Asia. The budget documents of the military department say that the US Navy aircraft are now armed with a new anti-ship missile manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The use of new weapons is explained by the “urgent operational need” of the US Pacific Command. Now the Pentagon is trying to get 224 million dollars to order another 53 such missiles in 2021.