The United States is adapting its military capabilities to new threats posed by Russia and China. This was stated by the head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper.

“The national defense strategy directs our efforts to adapt the forces to a security environment formed by new threats from our strategic competitors - China and Russia,” said the Minister of Defense.

According to him, “both of these revisionist powers” ​​are modernizing their armed forces and “seeking to gain control over important waterways,” such as the South China and Black Seas, in order to “veto decisions in the field of economy and security of small states.”

“Maintaining US military superiority is especially important in light of the threats posed by advanced technologies such as hypersonic missiles, artificial intelligence and space-based weapons, which in the hands of our rivals will allow them to compete with our ships, our aircraft and other joint platforms,” notes US Secretary of Defense

According to Esper, to confront the United States rivals at sea, the Pentagon "accelerates the development of next-generation assets" and designs a future fleet that will be "more deadly, tenacious, adaptable, not losing relevance and more numerous."

So, Mark Esper said that the updated US Navy will be characterized by “a large number of smaller surface ships, easily or optionally equipped with crews, many submarines and a modern element of strategic deterrence”.

Another response to the challenges of Washington’s opponents will be military modernization.

  • Pentagon Head Mark Esper
  • AFP
  • © Olivier Douliery

“It also means that we must modernize our methods of warfare and develop for this a new joint doctrine of warfare for the 21st century, as well as introduce new concepts such as distributed naval operations and operations using expeditionary advanced bases,” said Esper .

“Mistakenly regarded as a threat”

According to experts, making such statements, the head of the Pentagon seeks to "recall the US military dominance in the world" and "Washington's ability to control the main sea lanes."

“It is no coincidence that the United States recently launched seven of its 11 aircraft carriers into the ocean. Such a measure was designed to show American military power and support the image of the United States, which is built, in particular, on the fact that the country is positioning itself as a maritime power, ”said Andrei Sidorov, dean of the Moscow State University’s faculty of world politics, in an interview with RT.

From his point of view, the USA is absolutely confident in its own right to “control the entire water area of ​​the World Ocean”.

“In this sense, Esper is not original, it has been recalled in the Pentagon for many years. In particular, it is often said that Washington needs to gain a foothold in the Black and South China Seas in order to exert further pressure on Moscow and Beijing, ”the analyst noted.

Sidorov recalled that the Black Sea is strategically important for Russia, and the South China - for China.

“The USA cares only about its interests. That is why the desire of Moscow and Beijing to ensure their own security is mistakenly regarded by Washington as a threat and is characterized as aggressive behavior, ”the expert said.

Traditional charges

Recall that the Pentagon has repeatedly explained the need to build up its military potential with the “Russian and Chinese threats.”

In mid-November 2019, Mark Esper designated the so-called Indo-Pacific region as “a priority theater of operations”. At the same time, the US Department of Defense motivated this approach with a potential danger emanating from the Russian Federation and China.

“The focus of the US National Defense Strategy is on the return of rivalry between the great powers. The most serious threats come from China and Russia, ”the website of the defense department notes.

  • Pentagon
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  • © Jason Reed

A challenge from Russia and China, the US military explained the need to attract new partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

In early February 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that the latest W76-2 low-power nuclear warheads were put on alert. The Pentagon referred to the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) as the rationale for such a measure, which defines the US long-term strategy in the field of nuclear weapons, in which Russia is listed as a "potential adversary."

Later, on February 12, the Pentagon announced that the US Secretary of Defense was ordering "to deploy units of the 1st security assistance brigade on the continent" in order to "increase the effectiveness of competition with China and Russia in Africa." This is stated in a statement by a spokeswoman for the US defense department Alissa Farah.

The “Russian threat” also appears in the scenarios of American military exercises.

So, the United States conducted maneuvers in late February, the legend of which suggested that Russia used nuclear weapons in Europe. This is stated in the transcript posted on the Pentagon website. It is clarified that during the exercises, the military worked out the transfer of this "information" to the American authorities. Then, according to legend, Washington decided to deliver a limited nuclear strike against Russia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the conduct of such exercises. As the deputy head of the department, Sergey Ryabkov, such actions show Washington’s readiness to “follow the path of confrontation and move towards further lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.”

The Pentagon also linked the threat of Defender Europe 2020 to the threat allegedly emanating from the Russian Federation. According to Mark Esper, one of the tasks of the maneuvers is to change the “bad behavior” of Moscow.

Then the statement of the head of the US Department of Defense was noticed by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova. She noted that “to force the United States to change the Russian course in foreign policy” “will not work.”

In addition, on May 23, the American newspaper The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, reported that employees of the US presidential administration Donald Trump were discussing the issue of resuming nuclear tests because of threats allegedly emanating from Russia and China. Washington previously accused Moscow and Beijing of conducting nuclear test explosions, but did not provide any evidence. Both states categorically rejected these allegations.

  • Tanks USA M1 Abrams
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Recall that Russia has repeatedly emphasized that it does not set itself the goal of threatening other countries, and in particular the United States. So, in November 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that for Russia, building up defense potential is "not a reason to threaten anyone."

“On the contrary, we are ready to do everything in our power to push the disarmament process, taking into account our latest weapons systems, whose task is solely to guarantee security, taking into account the growing threats for us,” the head of state said.

“Fraught with conflict”

According to Andrei Sidorov, “it has become a tradition for the Pentagon” to explain the buildup of its military activity in different regions of the world, as well as the development of the military-industrial complex with “notorious threats” from Russia and China.

“The Pentagon has again raised its favorite topic of Russian and Chinese threats to justify the need to maintain American military superiority. The United States, developing its programs and seeking funding for them, is forced to somehow motivate it. This is most conveniently done, citing the danger allegedly emanating from the Russian Federation and the PRC, since the Pentagon has created a myth about such threats in American society for a long time, and now supports it, ”the expert explained in a conversation with RT.

Director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, Yuri Rogulev, has a similar opinion.

“It is no coincidence that Esper speaks in such detail about plans to develop the Navy. Such programs are very expensive, and all of them need funding. At the same time, the fiscal year in the USA ends already in October, and the military needs to formulate new programs, submit them to Congress and somehow justify the allocation of large sums to them, ”the analyst said.

Andrei Sidorov did not rule out the possibility that, speaking of the need to modernize methods of warfare, in particular, to introduce the practice of operations “using expeditionary advanced bases,” Esper refers to the mobilization of US allies.

“Many countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region are in no hurry to share the security burden with Washington, despite Trump’s calls, because it’s unreasonably expensive and sometimes pointless. The new joint doctrine of warfare may include requirements already voiced by the head of the White House for allies to increase defense spending, purchase American weapons and standardize methods of conducting operations, ”the expert suggested.

Sidorov also emphasized that those plans for the modernization of the arms industry and the buildup of US military strength, which Esper speaks of, "can lead to unpredictable consequences."

“Such actions in the military sphere do not increase the stability of the world security system. A large number of the same American ships that enter the Black Sea create tension near the Russian borders, which is fraught with conflict situations, ”says Andrei Sidorov.

  • US military
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  • © Jeff Mitchell

Yuri Rogulev, in turn, recalls that the United States, declaring imaginary threats from Russia and China, themselves are systematically and purposefully withdrawing from international security agreements.

“We have witnessed Washington's withdrawal from a number of agreements - the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate and Shorter-Range Missiles, the Open Skies Treaty. The next may be an agreement on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive weapons. Its action ends in February 2021, and the United States has not yet announced its position regarding its extension, despite Moscow’s readiness to prolong the agreement.

Washington itself is destroying the arms control system, which is highly likely to lead to an arms race and weakening international security, ”concluded Rogulev.