Quote:
Originally Posted by Raellus
To get us back on topic, two things bear keeping in mind.
First, the U.S. is capable of projecting military power throughout the globe but they are becoming less and less capable of paying for the capability to do so. We can barely afford (I would contend that we can't afford) the two "low intensity conflicts" we're currently neck deep in.
The Chinese may not have a true blue water navy like that of the U.S., but they don't really need one. Logistically speaking, the Chinese, in most places in Asia- Taiwan specifically- would be essentially operating with interior lines of supply, whereas the United Space would be have to supply its naval forces over much greater distances. To do so is not cheap.
Look at a Jane's Warship Recognition guide from about 10 years ago and then look at the most up-to-date edition. China's navy is growing in size and capability every year. They can afford to close the "missile gap" with the U.S. We can't afford to keep the distance. Like it or not, the Chinese military is slowly but surely catching up to those in the West. And, quantity has a quality all its own. Add to that the fact that any conceivable future war between China and the U.S. will most likely be fought in their backyard and I can't really understand all the jingoistic self-congratulations that are flying about here. It's a painful reality to face but that doesn't make it any less real. The Eagle is slowly landing and the Dragon is slowly rising.
|
America actually spends a higher part its GDP on defence than any of the other main powers in the world at the moment, so in these testing economic times the strain is beginning to show.
$US Billion
698. USA (4.8%)
119. China (2.1%)
061. France (2.5%)
059. Britain (2.7%)
058. Russia (4.0%)
054. Japan (1.0%)
047. Germany (1.4%)
045. Saudi Arabia (11.2%)
041. India (2.8%)
037. Italy (1.8%)
033. Brazil (1.6%)
027. South Korea (2.8%)
But America also polices the world; fights two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, basing air, land and naval forces in Germany, Britain, South Korea, Japan and elswhere to guarantee the security of Europe and Asia, funds a blue fleet navy that has a battle tonnage larger than the next 13 navies combined, has a marine corps roughly the same size as the air and ground forces of a major Western European country, and maintains a strategic nuclear deterent many times greater than its needs to be. Is it any wonder that America is finding it hard to pay for all this.
If I was Obama I'd tell the Europeans and Asian allies, particularly Germany and Japan to go and pay for their own defence, and contribute more to the security of the world. If America cuts its defence spending to the same level as Britain (who defence spending is higher than average), it would trim the defence budget by nearly $US 350 billion, which would still be three times the official Chinese defence budget (I'd love to know what the real unofficial Chinese defence budget is tho).