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John Doe
Professor Kateland Wolfe
English Composition 1102
29 July 2015
Greatest Threat the U.S Military Faces
China’s rise in the past decade has come as a sudden surprise to most nations. The rapid
increase in commerce, infrastructure, and modernization has allowed China to focus more its
military development (DoD). China’s leaders see “a strong military as critical to prevent other
countries from taking steps that would damage China’s interests and to ensure China can defend
itself, should deterrence fail” (DoD). This attitude China has adopted towards their international
policy has made them an aggressive force within the Pacific frontier (DoD). Many Asian
countries have become uneasy due to China’s rise and have brought up concerns about China’s
strong growing military expansion in the Pacific. With the U.S having been the “peace-keeper”
of the Pacific since World War II, the U.S finds itself in a difficult position in handling the
increasing problems with a rising China in the Pacific (Macdonald & Parent). With military and
political tensions mounting between the U.S and China, China is the U.S’s greatest military
threat and to prove this claim I will be measuring China’s threat level.
China has surprised the international community as a rapidly rising superpower. The
quick increase in commerce, infrastructure, and modernization has allowed China to become a
rising superpower and an influential country at the global level. With China becoming a
dominant force in the global community, the U.S has been finding it difficult to deal with the
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shift of power and the newly shared role as active superpowers (Master of Finance 2015). The
U.S’s difficulty in establishing a clear and definite relationship with China has made the
interactions between these giants very fragile (Master of Finance 2015). The impact that the U.SChina’s relationship has on the rest of the world is prodigious (Master of Finance 2015). The U.S
and China boast the world’s largest economies and active militaries along with their heavily
influential politics with the rest of the world (Master of Finance 2015). Thus, China has become
a huge player within the U.S economy affecting our stock markets, investments, distribution,
manufacturing, and trading (Master of Finance 2015). With that said, it is important for
Americans to understand how China affects the U.S’s economy, military, and decision making
on a macro and micro scale since the relationship affects both the Americans and the Chinese.
Both nations are heavily involved and influential in each other’s economy, diplomacy, and
military growth. Because of this shared interdependence, China has become a vexing partner for
the U.S to manage a civil relationship with.
To understand the extreme growth China has experienced in comparison with the U.S,
China’s 2015 GDP growth amounts to 9.28% whereas the U.S finished at a mere 1.7% (Master
of Finance 2015). China’s poverty rate stands at 13.4% whereas the U.S stands at 15.1% (Master
of Finance 2015). China has a labor force of 795 million with a 6.5% unemployment rate while
the U.S peaks at 153 million labor force with a 9% unemployment rate (Master of Finance 2015).
Aside from the rapid expansion China has experienced, another good indictor displaying how
heavily involved the U.S’s economy is with China is the national debt. The infamous U.S debt
was at $14.3 trillion in 2011 before the level of borrowing reached its statutory limit (Murse
2015). Out of that $14.3 trillion, more than $4.5 trillion or about 46 percent of U.S debt is held
by foreign governments (Murse 2015). Out of those foreign governments, China is the largest
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foreign holder of U.S debt with the U.S owing China about $1.2 trillion in bills, notes and bonds
(Murse 2015). “China owns about 8 percent of publicly held U.S debt. Of all the holders of U.S
debt China is the third-largest…” (Murse 2015). Other foreign holders of U.S debt such as
Japan, United Kingdom, Taiwan, etc. have not even been able to reach the trillions (Murse
2015). Although the yuan and the dollar exchange are still far apart, China has even overtaken
the U.S as the world’s largest economy (Bird 2015).
Not only has China excelled economically, but militarily as well. China has been on a
long-term pursuit in military modernization designed to improve its military capacity to fight
short-duration conflicts with high intensity (DoD 2015). China is preparing for potential conflicts
with Taiwan which has become the driving force of its military modernization and expansion
(DoD 2015). Aside from Taiwan, China is also preparing for other contingencies in the East
China Sea and South China Sea (DoD 2015). With China’s international footprint and interest
growing, China is focusing on expanding its range of missions, power projection, security,
counter-piracy, and peacekeeping (DoD 2015). China’s military is modernizing at a fast pace to
be ready to face its conflict in the modern era. In 2000, the defense budget for China was at a
mere 121 billion yuan(14.6 billion U.S dollars) which is considered minuscule compared to its
2014 budget at 808.2 billion yuan(132 billion U.S dollars) with an announced rise of 12.2% in
the annual budget for the upcoming 2015 year (Global Security 2015). With the enormous
increase in China’s military budget and military modernization, how does its expansion and
revamping affect the U.S? China’s military modernization is aimed “…to reduce core U.S.
military technological advantages” (DoD 2015), as well as “…investing in capabilities designed
to defeat adversary power projection and counter third-party including U.S intervention during a
crisis or conflict” (DoD 2015). With this attitude, the young rising super power China is
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challenging the U.S’s position as a superpower and global peacekeeper; thus, the shift in power
balance is changing with China’s every strategic development to counter U.S influence and
power projection internationally. China is focusing on developing and testing medium-range
conventional ballistic missiles, as well as long-range missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, landattack missiles, all in efforts to push the U.S further from potential regional conflicts (DoD
2015). Aside from conventional warfare, China is also focusing to deter the U.S’s military
advantageous capabilities in fields such as cyber operations, counter-space, electronic warfare,
and informationized warfare (DoD 2015). China is focusing on such improvements and
developments in order to deter U.S intervention conflicting with Chinese interests; however, if
there was to be U.S intervention, China would be prepared with its modernized military to face
the U.S on an “even playing field” having reduced the U.S’s military might (DoD 2015). It is
important that the U.S maintains technological superiority to enforce its presence as a
peacekeeper and to deter possible spurring threats. With the lack of fear and intimidation that
comes with technological superiority, countries that are not closely involved in U.S alliances
may stray to purse their own interests more freely. Frank Kendall, the deputy undersecretary for
defense for acquisition and technology states, “U.S military’s technological superiority is being
challenged in ways that I have not seen for decades, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region,
where China is pursuing a rapid modernization program” (SCMP 2015). Kendall also states to
the Armed Services Committee in the House of Representatives that “Technological superiority
is not assured” and that “This is not a future problem. This is a here-now problem” (SCMP
2015). China’s rise to power will be translated into their attempt to dominate Asia just as how
U.S dominates the Western Hemisphere (Mearsheimer 2015).What makes China’s desire to
dominate Asia a threat to the U.S, is the carefully established balance of power and alliances that
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were forged since the Japanese domination in WWII (Mearsheimer 2015). Most of China’s
neighbors Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, and India will join the U.S to contain
Chinese dominance thus resulting in intense security competition with considerable potential for
conflict (Mearsheimer 2015). It is important that the U.S evaluates its strategy for the future
when China becomes even more developed and its military is more modernized and the U.S will
need to deal with a sharp shift in power where China will control much more relative power than
it does today, as well as being placed within the same economic and military league as the U.S
(Mearsheimer 2015). Essentially, I have found that the U.S needs to make the adjustments and
preparation to choose whether to accept sharing power with a less constrained China or maintain
its superiority and not allow a China to act as freely as it does today (Mearsheimer 2015).
Although China has been suggested as the U.S’s greatest military threat, there are also
many other threats in different continents that are considered to pose the greatest threat to the
U.S military. China is not the only well-established country that the U.S considers as a threat,
notable countries that have made the annual World Wide Threat Assessment of the US
Intelligence are North Korea, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Though each of country is
on the list for a different reason, many can argue for each country’s reason for possibly being the
greatest threat. Russia can be considered the U.S military’s greatest threat because of the
Russians have “repeatedly demonstrated that it does not respect the sovereignty of its neighbors
and it is willing to use force to achieve its goals. Russia’s military actions are undermining
regional security directly and through proxy forces” (Gady 2015). North Korea is popularly
considered the greatest threat due to its lack of transparency and radical state along with its
hatred for the U.S and its heavy investment in ballistic missiles that can threaten the U.S
homeland (Gady 2015). Not only are there well-establish countries that pose threats, there are
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also many organizations that are considered threats to the U.S such as ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq
and Syria). ISIS is considered a huge growing threat to the U.S even more so than Al Qaeda
(NBC 2015). What makes ISIS an unique threat to the U.S military is that it is not focused on
conventional security breaches or national interests such as China; ISIS is focused on recruiting
and carrying out domestic and international acts of terrorism (NBC 2015). With the long list of
other possible threats that may or may not be more serious than China, I will be reviewing all of
the threats in order to come to a fair conclusion on where the U.S military stands in belief of its
greatest threat.
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Works Cited
Bird, Mike. "China Just Overtook The US As The World's Largest Economy." Business Insider.
Business Insider, Inc, 08 Oct. 2014. Web. 23 July 2015.
Brook, Tom Vanden. "Islamic State Biggest Threat since 9/11, Officials Say." USA Today.
Gannett, 24 Aug. 2014. Web. 23 July 2015.
"China's Military Power an Increasing Threat to US, Pentagon Official Admits." South China
Morning Post. Web. 23 July 2015.
Crawford, Jamie. "Joint Chiefs Nominee: Russia Greatest Threat to U.S. - CNNPolitics.com."
CNN. Cable News Network, Web. 23 July 2015.
Gady, Franz-Stefan. "What Does the US Military See as Its Greatest Threat?" The Diplomat.
Web. 23 July 2015.
Macdonald, Paul K., and Joseph M. Parent. "Graceful Decline? The Surprising Success of Great
Power Retrenchment." International Security 35.4 (2011). Web. 16 July 2015.
Mearsheimer, John J. "Can China Rise Peacefully?" The National Interest. Web. 23
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July 2015.
"Military." China Spending/Budget. Web. 23 July 2015.
Murse, Tom. "U.S. Debt - How Much China Owns." Web. 23 July 2015.
The Associated Press. "ISIS Poses a Bigger Threat Than Al Qaeda, FBI Chief Says." NBC
News. Web. 23 July 2015.
"U.S. vs China: Superpower Showdown." Master of Finance Degrees. Web. 23 July
2015.
United States. Department of Defense. 2015 China Military Power Report. Print.
United States. Senate Armed Services Committe. National Intelligence. Worldwide Threat
Assessment of the US Intelligence Community. Print.
Voyant Tools. Program documentation.Web.