The United States has begun working on brand new types of weapons that would help it keep up with China's military advancement and let it be able to deter a potential invasion of Taiwan.
American military officials have continuously stressed that they consider China the main "pacing challenge" for development and engagement. This means that Beijing is a competitor that is making significant progress toward challenging U.S. defense strategy on the international stage.
U.S. Navy Advancement
One way that the U.S. Navy has identified water-born drones is an affordable but effective means of delaying that challenge. Furthermore, the Navy's 5th Fleet has already deployed smaller drones of this nature in waters off the Middle East.
During the summer, four of the largest drones currently deployed will take part in a multi-nation naval exercise in the Pacific Ocean. The drones would allow the U.S. Navy to maintain fleet size in comparison to China's growing fleet while also achieving three other goals.
These are weapons range, scouting, and command and control and the technology would also avoid costly mistakes that have arisen with traditional ships in recent years. Officials said that several combat ships found after deployment had a variety of issues, as per Fox News.
This includes propulsion problems that lead to the early retirement of the ships, the ammo for a stealth destroyer's "Advanced Gun System" proving too costly to maintain, and a new aircraft carrier showing issues with its launch system.
However, critics have argued that the Navy rushed too much regarding the addition of new technology to its vessels. Cmdr. Jeremiah Daley, on the other hand, said it was a matter of "moving the technology forward and having confidence in the capability."
According to the Associated Press, the situation comes as Moscow has accused the U.S. of "navigation bullying" in the South China Sea. China blasted a top U.S. Navy official on Friday after the latter criticized Beijing's increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea.
South China Sea
The Chinese official said that America's military deployments in the disputed waters, which it called "navigation bullying" could spark confrontations. The Chinese Embassy in Manila also said that it strongly deployed U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro's remarks, which were "unfounded accusations against and maliciously smeared China" and inflated the "China threat."
On Tuesday, Del Toro underscored how Beijing has encroached on the sovereign waters of its Asian neighbors in violation of international law. He said that the U.S. military's focus in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in the disputed South China Sea, would never slacken and, in fact, has intensified despite the war in Ukraine.
Furthermore, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has planned a trip to Taiwan over rising tensions with Moscow. The official set off from California on Saturday to begin a tour of several Asian nations that may include a stop in the island nation of 23 million people.
The visit would come as China claims Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy, as its territory, and has vowed to take it back under its control, threatening force if necessary. During a call on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping sharply warned United States President Joe Biden against intervening in the dispute, the New York Times reported.
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