“I’ve made China the pacing threat for our armed services,” he said.
In a virtual discussion with the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, “China’s been on this [malevolent] path for some time now. It’s time that we woke up and address it, that we competed much more vigorously with China.”
He outlined an across-the-board recommendation of the Defense Department from reducing to shifting priorities at global combat commands, and with the goal to counter China’s influence and align efforts with the National Defense Strategy great power competition.
Fifty percent of the National Defense University curriculum now focuses on China to help senior-level officers understand that nation’s political, military and economic goals and the values of the Chinese Communist Party. “We’re now understanding better Chinese order of battle,” Esper said. He added, “I don’t see China right now as an inevitable threat, that we are going to have a fight with them. But we do have to compete, and we have to be much more vigorous in all domains.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Defense Secretary Esper as he leads America’s military in addressing global threats.
- For direction for the Department of Defense as they work to address international tensions in the South China Sea.
- For God to be at work through U.S.-China relations and for peace to prevail.
Sources: Washington Examiner, Stars & Stripes
