Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, told lawmakers yesterday that when it comes to "technological superiority, the Department of Defence is being challenged in ways that I have not seen for decades, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region."
Citing China's major investments in anti-ship missiles, stealth fighter jets, hypersonic vehicles and other hi-tech weaponry, Kendall said the United States could lose its dominant position if it failed to respond to the altered strategic landscape.
Asked to assess what one lawmaker called an arms race between the two countries, Kendall said there was cause for concern as China dramatically increases its military spending.
"Their budget is far smaller than ours, but their personnel costs are also far smaller than ours," said Kendall, undersecretary of defence for acquisition, technology and logistics.
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"Our budgets are going in the opposite direction. So just by that metric alone, it's not positive."
Lawmakers and defence analysts say China is making strides in modernising its military, particularly in the area of so-called "anti-access" weapons -- such as missiles and electronic jamming systems -- that could potentially limit the reach of US aircraft carriers or warplanes.
As a result, the Pentagon is "looking very carefully at Pacific Command's requirements and what they need for the operations in that area," he said.
Kendall added that Washington was concerned about China exporting its newer weapons abroad.
Echoing Kendall's wider concerns, Admiral Samuel Locklear, head of US Pacific Command, said last week that the American military's "relative dominance" is declining as other countries invest in sophisticated weapons.