The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved $6 billion for the so-called Pacific Defense Initiative. “The best way to protect U.S. security and prosperity in Asia is to maintain a credible balance of military power, but, after years of under funding, America’s ability to do so is at risk,” the committee’s summary stated, reported Defense News. “The FY21 [National Defense Authorization Act] establishes the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) to send a strong signal to the Chinese Communist Party that America is deeply committed to defending our interests in the Indo-Pacific.”
The committee also approved a provision that encourages the U.S. Air Force to establish an operating location in the Indo-Pacific region for F-35A fighter jets and to allocate “sufficient resources and prioritize the protection of air bases that might be under attack from current or emerging cruise missiles and advanced hypersonic missiles, specifically from China.”
