China hawks in the Republican Party are demanding President Joe Biden surge U.S. defense spending by up to 5% above inflation this year to boost the country's already formidable military superiority over China.

Members of the powerful House Armed Services Committee (HASC) made this push to President Joe Biden in a contentious letter that drew adverse reactions from the more dovish members of Biden's Democratic Party.

"The Chinese Communist Party increased its defense spending by over 75 percent in the last decade," wrote the HASC members.

"The Chinese military has gone from an obsolete force barely able to defend its borders to a modern fighting force capable of winning regional conflicts."

The China hawks also called for boosting the U.S. military's capabilities in naval warfare, in space, and in the cyber realm. They also demand further modernization of the country's nuclear weapon capabilities.

And,in a direct attack on Democrat doves, GOP members of the HASC urged Biden to "reject demands from many on the left (Democrats) to cut or freeze defense spending."

The letter was signed by ranking members of all seven House Armed Services subcommittees. It was endorsed by HASC Ranking Member Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the top Republican on the committee.

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), the new vice ranking member on the HASC, believes the emphasis on China as America's main strategic competitor will drive the Navy's accelerated shipbuilding strategy and make a larger fleet essential.

"You might have a debate about what classes of ships you want to prioritize or how you integrate unmanned platforms," said Wittman.

"But I think overall the idea is you have to be able to counter the Chinese and in turn our other adversaries, including the Russians that, while they're not modernizing at the pace that the Chinese are, they have some pretty capable assets that do place the United States at risk. So you have to be able to do those things."

"You have to have attack submarines. I think you need to be able to build them at a higher rate, that is three per year. I know you can't just flip the switch and do that. Make sure we're staying on track with Columbia [ballistic missile submarine], the same with Ford [aircraft carriers]. Staying on track with multi-ship procurement on [amphibious ships] and the same with DDGs."

The White House's Fiscal Year 2022 30-year shipbuilding plan crafted under the Trump administration called for a sustained funding boost to build a much larger fleet. It wants the Navy to spend $147 billion from FY 2022 to FY 2026 to buy 82 new ships.

The 30-year shipbuilding plan sees the Navy having 405 manned ships by 2051. It also envisions building three Virginia-class attack submarines per year.

There is no indication if the Biden administration intends to run with this plan, however.

Wittman said he and Rogers would push to maintain defense spending at current levels to pursue both modernization and increased readiness for the armed services.

"And that means making sure that we stand by the funding levels that we've had in the past," said Wittman.

"In fact, I would argue you have to be able to factor in an element of inflation to make sure we have the dollars necessary."