The Pentagon's new National Military Strategy says the U.S. must shift its focus away from violent extremist networks and pay greater attention to four particular countries: Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.
"For the past decade, our military campaigns primarily have consisted of operations against violent extremist networks. But today, and into the foreseeable future, we must pay greater attention to challenges posed by state actors," the strategy says. "They increasingly have the capability to contest regional freedom of movement and threaten our homeland.
"Of particular concern are the proliferation of ballistic missiles, precision strike technologies, unmanned systems, space and cyber capabilities, and weapons of mass destruction technologies designed to counter U.S. military advantages and curtail access to the global commons."
While the Pentagon doesn't believe any of the countries are seeking direct military conflict, "they each pose serious security concerns," and emerging technological advances are exacerbating the threat, the report warns
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, warned Wednesday upon releasing the report that there exists a "low but growing" probability of the U.S. engaging in war with a major power, which would have "immense" consequences, reported AFP.
States are developing advanced technological capabilities and global disorder has trended upward, causing "some of America's comparative military advantage" to begin to erode, which "will have increasing implications to the U.S. homeland," Dempsey said.
"Emerging technologies are impacting the calculus of deterrence and conflict management by increasing uncertainty and compressing decision space. For example, attacks on our communications and sensing systems could occur with little to no warning, impacting our ability to assess, coordinate, communicate, and respond," the report explained. "As a result, future conflicts between states may prove to be unpredictable, costly, and difficult to control.
"When applied to military systems, this diffusion of technology is challenging competitive advantages long held by the United States such as early warning and precision strike."
The strategy says that Russia has "repeatedly demonstrated that it does not respect the sovereignty of its neighbors and it is willing to use force to achieve its goals."
Pointing to Russia's involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, the report says, "Russia's military actions are undermining regional security directly and through proxy forces," which violate numerous agreements.
Russia continues to deny that it has deployed troops in eastern Ukraine to support pro-Kremlin separatists. The report does note that Russia "has contributed in select security areas, such as counternarcotics and counterterrorism."
The paper goes on to warn about the strategic challenges Iran and North Korea pose to the international community, in particular their insistence to develope nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. Both countries continue to pursue "nuclear and missile delivery technologies despite repeated United Nations Security Council resolutions demanding that it cease such efforts," the report says.
As for China, the report says the U.S. supports its rise and encourages it "to become a partner for greater international security." However, China has added tension to the Asia-Pacific region by reclaiming nearly the entirety of the hotly contested South China Sea.
While the international community continues to call for the issues to be settled peacefully, China has increased its military and civilian presence in the area and "responded with aggressive land reclamation efforts that will allow it to position military forces astride vital international sea lanes."
