George Washington said: "Being a good preparation for war is one of the most effective means to maintain peace."EssenceThe US weapon library has helped ensure peace in the past 40 years, but it has not been politically attached to its atrophy. At the same time, war machine construction in other countries has entered a climax.Most Americans have not realized that the ghosts of conflicts of great powers have reproduced.
The military forces that restore the United States should be done early.We can avoid war by preparing.
Senior military leaders in the United States told me and my colleagues at the closed -door hearing of the Senate Military Commission that we faced some of the most dangerous global threatening environments since World War II.Then they explained that our armed forces faced insufficient equipment and exceeded risks, which made the original disturbing picture darker.We have difficulty in building and maintaining warships. The number of fighters is less than the danger. Our military infrastructure is out of date.At the same time, American opponents are expanding their military power and become better.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has accelerated the historic military modernization process and intended to use the weakness of the US military.The scale of the Chinese naval fleet has surpassed the United States, established one of the world's largest missile reserves, and made significant progress in the space field.Russian President Putin dragged Europe into the war and mobilized society to prepare for long -term conflict.Iran and its agent gangs upgraded the shadow war against Israel and increased their attack on American ships and soldiers.North Korea ignored the efforts of the military reserve control negotiations and turned to prepare for war.
Worse, these governments are providing material help to each other and cooperate in new ways to prevent the United States from dominating the 21st century.Iran provides Russia with drones for the battlefield, and China is providing technical and logistical support for Putin's war.These governments also help each other by increasing weapons transfer and avoiding sanctions to prepare for future battles.The unprecedented collaboration has made new global conflicts more likely.
The future of imagination may come at the speed that most Americans imagine.According to the increasing consensus of experts, we may see that we are in a state of being easily hit within a few years.When China's military strength has made rapid progress, our army may be in the state of lack of preparations in the past decades.The commander of the United States India Command announced a list of military and combat commands that have not been supported by funding in the budget next year, with a total of $ 11 billion. I think this list is the longest in history.These include funds provided by a series of infrastructure, missile defense and target projects. These projects will be proven to be vital in a Pacific battle.China does not have such problems. It is gradually increasing the world's first -class hypersonic arsenal, including other deadly cruise missiles and attack missiles.
Our military leaders are being forced to make almost impossible choices.The U.S. Navy lacks sufficient funds in building new warships, daily maintenance and ammunition procurement, and cannot solve these three problems at the same time.We recently signed an agreement to sell submarines in Australia, but we failed to provide sufficient funds for our submarine industrial base, resulting in aging the fleet and lack of preparation for threats.Among the three most important nuclear weapons modernization projects in the United States, there are two insufficient funds and facing delays.The army faces a backlog of at least $ 180 billion in basic maintenance projects, from the barracks to the training ground.We send soldiers who responded to lack of crisis ability abroad, which is equivalent to showing their weaknesses to their opponents.
Fortunately, we can change the status quo.We can avoid this state of being easily hit and regain the military strength of the United States.
I announced a plan on Wednesday, including a series of detailed suggestions to respond to this reality.We have been eating the old military construction of Reagan; it is time to update and upgrade.My plan outlines why the United States needs, and how to increase an additional 55 billion US dollars in military budget in fiscal 2025 to increase the proportion of military expenditures in GDP in China.The time increased to 5%.
This will be an investment of great significance, which will re -estimate the gratitude of my country's expenditure.We will start a variety of discussions on the budget issues.We don't need to spend so much military expenditure endlessly, but we do need to invest in the short -term generation to help us prevent another world war.
My action plan was increased by in 2035, the number of naval ships increased to 357, and the number of aircraft fighter jets gradually decreased, and at least 340 new fighters were produced in five years.This will help make up for the recent shortage and let the naval fleet and the air force fighter fleet embark on the path of sustainable development.This plan will also supplement the air force's tanker and training fleets, accelerate the modernization of the Army and the Marine Corps, and invest in joint combat capabilities, including logistics and ammunition, which are often ignored.
Congress has passed the National Security Supplement Act in April this year, including 3.3 billion US dollars of funds provided by the submarine industrial base. My proposal will be based on this basis, allowing us to strengthen our and allies' defense capabilitiesEssenceThe proposal will also be produced through large -scale production to quickly provide American soldiers all over the world with innovative technologies from the bottom to the starry sky.
We should combine increased investment with more wise expenses.Combining this key investment with fiscal responsibility allows us to invest resources to the most strategic goal.Emerging technology must play an important role, and we can build and deploy most of them in less than five years.My roadmap will also help improve the military procurement system and strengthen the accountability and company accountability of the unable to complete important national security projects.
All this will shake our current situation, but the destructiveness and cost of doing so are much lower than other choices.If China decides to fight with the United States, the global economy will immediately fall into depression.Americans have lived too comfortably under the overwhelming military advantages of decades.This error's sense of security has caused us to ignore the necessary military maintenance and make us vulnerable to attack.
We can regain the ability to deter opponents because we have done this before.On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor incident, when the Soviet Union entered the late stage, George H. W. Bush reflected the lessons of the Pearl Harbor incident.Although that conflict has already passed, he still keeps in mind the lesson: "Living in the second place on national defense means that he ranks last," he said.
Restoring US strength requires expensive expenditures.But fighting a war (worse, if you lose), the price is even greater.We need to start a national dialogue on how to achieve peace, prosperity, and the United States in the 21st century.The first step is to invest a generation of the US military.
