FPI / April 21, 2025
Geostrategy-Direct
The new chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff has warned that America’s military in its current state is not able to deter China and other adversarial states.
Gen. Dan Caine, who was sworn in as chairman on April 14, called for urgent defense reforms including the nation's industrial base.
Caine stated in recent Senate testimony that the weaknesses include an inability of the military system to support and respond rapidly to a conflict.
“The U.S. does not have the throughput, responsiveness, or agility needed to deter our adversaries,” Caine stated in written answers to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The military’s main problem is an arms acquisition system and defense industrial base that are “not optimized for protracted conflict,” said the four-star Air Force general who was recently promoted from retired three-star rank in the confirmation process.
Caine said the deterrent power of the U.S. arsenal has been weakened by China’s emergence as a major nuclear power and Russia’s continued development of advanced nuclear weapons capabilities.
President Donald Trump announced last week that he plans to spend $1 trillion on defense in the next budget cycle.
At another point in the written answers, Caine said that, based on public reporting, he is confident the military has the materiel, equipment, training and personnel “to meet its current challenges.”
Caine said the military imbalance between China and Taiwan is “stark” due to the Chinese military’s increased ability to project power across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait.
He has said he will review U.S. defense support for the island democracy, according to reports by security correspondent Bill Gertz for the Washington Times.
Adm. Sam Paparo, the commander of Indo-Pacific Command, told a Senate hearing on April 10 that U.S. forces can deter China and prevail in a conflict but warned that “the margin is eroding.”
Paparo told the Senate Armed Services Committee that his forces are strong enough to deter Chinese military action in the region but discouraging future Chinese aggression will require a buildup of American power.
The four-star admiral described China’s military power in the region as a 300% increase in large-scale coercive military operations near Taiwan.
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