TIPP: Preparing for a future war that should never be
By TIPP EDITORIAL BOARD,TIPP INSIGHTS
Congress mandates that every administration formulate and issue a new national defense strategy. Of course, there are two versions: the classified and the public one.
Biden administration’s U.S. National Defense Strategy DOCUMENT was issued last Thursday. The public version reflects the new realities confronting and challenging the nation’s security in the short and long term. It is no surprise that China and Russia feature prominently at the top of the list of concerns.
The document states, “China presents the most consequential and systemic challenge, while Russia poses acute threats — both to vital U.S. national interests abroad and to the homeland.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in Moscow being labeled an “acute threat.” President Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons and his military’s bombing of civilian targets in Ukraine have rattled the world. Biden administration’s unconditional support of Kyiv and generous military aid has only helped to drag the war into its ninth month. Even as one hopes that talks of “nuclear options” are mere rhetoric, the world is the closest to the brink of a nuclear war in over seven decades.
China, meanwhile, is seen as a long-term adversary. Beijing has been systematically building up its military and naval forces and nuclear capabilities. President Xi Jinping’s aggressive foreign policy approach will likely escalate now that he has secured an unprecedented third term in office.
Beijing has upped the ante with each instance or event it considers a “provocation.” Over the past year, it has stated that “military force” is an option to “reunite” the island of Taiwan, a territory it claims as its own. China’s “historic” claims to the South China Sea, its militarization of atolls in the region, and security pacts with the Solomon Islands in the Pacific are also reasons to be wary.
“The most comprehensive and serious challenge to U.S. national security is (China’s) coercive and increasingly aggressive endeavor to refashion the Indo-Pacific region and the international system to suit its interests and authoritarian preferences,” read the strategy document.
Others mentioned in the document are North Korea and Iran. Leader Kim Jong Un’s missile and nuclear programs continue unabated. The regime poses a clear threat to peace in the region. While in the Middle East, the right-wing regime’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities, albeit for “peaceful purposes,” makes its neighbors jittery. Even if the JCPOA were to be revived, experts believe that Tehran is just months away from developing a nuclear weapon.
China’s hawkish position, North Korea’s frequent missile tests, and Russia’s warmongering have forced Washington to shift from the President’s campaign promises. Despite his pledge to “reduce the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. strategy” and retire the largest gravity bomb in the U.S. arsenal, the B83, the administration has chosen to face the grim developments that threaten world peace.
The National Defense Strategy document details plans to modernize weaponry and a complete overhaul of the American nuclear arsenal. In addition, Washington is also looking to enhance foreign cooperation and alliances to strengthen its security. Steps are underway, with new diplomatic missions being opened in the Pacific Islands and military partnerships with allies like Australia, Japan, and India.
China’s militarization of the Taiwan Strait and its naval trespassing in the region has already set off an arms race. The U.S. ban on selling advanced semiconductor chips and technology to Beijing is likely to rein in the country’s military advancement. Though massive losses suffered by President Putin’s forces will likely take decades to negate, many European countries have started to augment their arsenal and modernize their militaries.
Even as Americans welcome the realistic analysis and proactive plans to shore up the nation’s security, the prospect of another arms race distresses many. America may resume nuclear testing. The country will invariably have to increase its nuclear stockpile to take on or ward off two nuclear peers.
With the war theatre in Ukraine showing no signs of downing the curtains and Taiwan in the crosshairs of President Xi’s government, a sense of unease and insecurity prevails. War, as the world is once again witnessing, causes untold misery to millions, directly and indirectly. One can hope that diplomacy and statesmanship will steer the world away from future conflicts.
But, With Hiroshima and Nagasaki fading away into the past and President Putin’s war rhetoric, the “nuclear option” is gaining traction. Regardless of how “controlled” or “precise” the strike may be, a nuclear war, of any scale, is best avoided for the sake of humanity.
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