The Chinese military buildup, in particular its emphasis on the naval assets, is aimed at changing the balance of power in the Western Pacific, a top American commander has told lawmakers.
"I would agree," Admiral Samuel Locklear, Commander of the US Pacific Command (PACOM) told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday.
"Their maritime strategy is pretty clear.... And they have certainly tailored their defense spending heavily in the maritime domain. And so it is an incremental strategy.
"... But my sense is that they look at their strategy, and they look at the current status and -- South China Sea, and I think they believe they're on their strategy," Locklear said.
He also conceded the opinion that recent Chinese actions have been provocative and in many cases an attempt to change the status quo.
During the hearing, senators expressed concern over the Chinese military buildup and the impact that it would have on the US influence in the region.
"China is pretty rapidly chewing away any dominance that we might have in the region, but even at a 12 per cent growth in defense expenditures it would be many decades before they could reduce our dominance globally," Senator Tim Kaine said.
At a time when the US has announced a slew of fiscal austerity within the Department of Defense, China is increasing its official military budget for 2014 to almost USD 132 billion, which is a 12 per cent increase over last year.
This makes China's military spending the second largest after the US, Senator Carl Levin said.
"China's pursuit of new military capabilities raises concerns about its intentions, particularly in the context of the country's increasing willingness to assert its controversial claims of sovereignty in the South China and East China seas," he said.
China's belligerence and unwillingness to negotiate a maritime code of conduct with its ASEAN neighbors raises doubts about its representations that China is interested in a peaceful rise, Levin said.
"China's apparent willingness to exploit cyberspace, to conduct corporate espionage and to steal trade and propriety information from US companies should drive our government and businesses to come together to advance our own cybersecurity," he added.
