China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities?: China is building a modern and regionally powerful Navy with a modest but growing capability for conducting operations beyond China’s near-seas region. The question is of particular importance to the U.S. Navy, because many U.S. military programs for countering improved Chinese military forces would fall within the Navy’s budget. Observers expect that there will be a stronger emphasis in DOD planning on U.S. naval and air forces. Decisions that Congress and the executive branch make regarding U.S. Navy programs for countering improved Chinese maritime military capabilities could affect the likelihood or possible outcome of a potential U.S.-Chinese military conflict in the Pacific over Taiwan or some other issue.
Even in the absence of such a conflict, the U.S.-Chinese military balance in the Pacific could influence d choices made by other Pacific countries, including whether to align their policies more closely with China or the United States. Decisions regarding U.S. Navy programs for countering improved Chinese maritime military forces could therefor influence the political evolution of the Pacific, which in turn could affect the ability of the United States to pursue goals relating to various policy issues, both in the Pacific and elsewhere.
