The United States Senate will soon pass the new Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI), an aggressive new military fund immensely boosting the capability of the United States Armed Forces to deter China militarily.
PDI will also reassure allies they can count on U.S. support in conflicts against China. The Senate says PDI sends a strong signal to the Communist Party of China (CPC) the United States "is deeply committed to defending our interests in the Indo-Pacific."
The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has budgeted close to $7 billion over two years to launch PDI. The huge sums to be allotted by PDI will accelerate the strategic deployment to Asia of U.S. weapons and platforms that will keep China at bay while allowing for quicker military reaction in case of crisis. PDI is also aimed at deterring both Russia and North Korea.
PDI will also allot funds to improve active and passive missile-defense systems for bases and operating locations in the Indo-Pacific. It will hasten the build-up of prepositioned military stockpiles.
But, more significantly, the freedom afforded by the larger funding will allow the U.S. military to begin transitioning to dispersed, resilient, and adaptive basing, and away from the current and more vulnerable model relying on a few but difficult-to-defend bases.
The SASC report stated PDI will focus U.S. military resources on shrinking key military capability gaps, reassuring U.S. allies and partners, and bolstering the credibility of American deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, an area that includes the Indian Ocean.
It emphasizes the best way to protect U.S. security and prosperity in Asia is to maintain a credible balance of military power. It noted the U.S.' ability to attain this aim was at risk after years of underfunding deterrence against China. PDI was established by the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021.
The $6 billion set aside for the PDI includes $1.4 billion for 2021 and $5.5 billion for fiscal 2022 to augment missile defense, fund new efforts that support regional allies, and deploy more U.S. troops closer to China.
PDI will also support the NDAA intent the U.S. Air Force establish a new Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter operating base in the Indo-Pacific region for rapid crisis response. The U.S. Pacific Air Forces in April took delivery of its first two F-35s. These stealth fighters are now stationed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. The base will be home to 54 of the stealth fighters by December 2021.
The SASC report said it doesn't matter how many F-35s the Air Force buys if very few are stationed in the Indo-Pacific. It said PDI will incentivize increased focus on posture and logistics. PDI will also correct glaring military deficiencies. The report pointed out U.S. military bases in the Indo-Pacific have little defense against Chinese missiles, and don't have secondary airfields to operate from.
