On the weekend when the world's big seven meet in Japan, the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin yesterday he briefed Congress on how the Pentagon plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars this year on new weapons and military preparations, as a deterrent to the growing danger of war with China.
"Beijing has increased provocations in the Indo-Pacific”Austin said before the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Beijing is pursuing a historic military buildup, including in space and cyberspace. Certainly war is neither imminent nor inevitable, but we must face China's growing assertiveness."
Military aircraft flights near Taiwan have increased with the clear provocative purpose. They fired lasers at a Philippine ship and performed risky aerial maneuvers near US and allied aircraft patrolling the region.
The US defense secretary has asked the government to allocate 9,1 billion dollars for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative of the Pentagon. The funding request is 40% more than what was spent on the program last year and will be used for weapons and infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region.
Austin said the effort must involve both the State Department, through its diplomacy, and the Commerce Department to keep US technology from falling behind China's military buildup. Regionally, Austin said a key element of the strategy is working with allies. Specifically, he said he would continue to help Australia build nuclear-powered attack submarines and support Japan's stockpiling of long-range attack missiles.
Austin then said that strengthening Taiwan's defenses is a top priority, since Beijing is planning a military operation against the island's democracy in the coming years.
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The G7 in Japan
Yesterday Japanese premier Fumio Kishida anticipated the bullets that the big seven will deal with this weekend: Ukraine, climate change and China. While the Europeans want to focus on efforts to help Kiev, America is oriented more towards countering the evident Chinese expansionism.
In this regard, Antony Blinken said that it is necessary to look to the southern hemisphere, to Africa which is courted by China with investments, infrastructures and large ten-year loans.
America therefore wants to direct the attention of the allies to actions aimed at Chinese anti-expansionism.
Trade between China and Africa last year amounted to 165 billion dollars, more than three times that of the US. Only a compact West can compete. It is no coincidence, in fact, that the Japanese premier has invited the African Union to the work of the G7.
From Meloni, Biden awaits reassurance on the abandonment of the memorandum on the Silk Road. The premier said she will talk about it during the dedicated session.
Washington, writes La Stampa, intends to lead the discussion on the export of technology and software to prevent Beijing from accelerating down the path of artificial intelligence.
Biden will also talk about defending Taiwan.