Eyeing China, Indo-Pacific Command seeks $27 billion deterrence fund

WASHINGTON ― U.S. military officials have outlined new spending requirements to boost deterrence against China, including new weapons, new construction and closer military-to-military collaboration with America’s allies in the region.

A report from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command delivered to Congress on Monday calls for roughly $27 billion in additional spending between 2022 and 2027; with $4.6 billion for fiscal year 2022 alone. With a few key changes from last year’s proposal , the report drafted by INDOPACOM chief Adm. Philip Davidson calls for new missiles and air defenses, radar systems, staging areas, intelligence-sharing centers, supply depots and testing ranges throughout the region, as well as exercises with allies and partners.

INDOPACOM renewed its call for the U.S. to build a $1.6 billion, 360-degree persistent and integrated air defense capability in Guam, served by a $200 million high-frequency radar system in Pulau and a $2.3 billion constellation of space-based radars. It also proposes $3.3 billion in ground-based, long-range fires with ranges of more than 500 kilometers, to make up “highly survivable, precision-strike networks along the First Island Chain.”

Davidson has said his top priority is establishing an Aegis Ashore system on Guam by 2026, which would help protect U.S. citizens and forces there. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery on Guam is meant to protect against a North Korean missile launch, though its single AN/TPY-2 radar is said to be vulnerable and cannot provide 360-degree coverage.

Davidson is expected to unveil the report at an American Enterprise Institute event on Thursday.

“The requirements outlined in this report are specifically designed to persuade potential adversaries that any preemptive military action will be too costly and likely to fail by projecting credible, combat power at the time of crisis,” reads an unclassified executive summary obtained by Defense News. “This includes providing several flexible deterrent options including full [operational plan] execution if deterrence should fail.”

The new proposal, which lands weeks before the Biden administration submits its FY22 budget request, is the Pentagon’s first since Congress established the Pacific Deterrence Initiative in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act . Last year’s version of the report proposed $18.5 billion in spending through 2026 and formed the basis for the PDI.

“This report is the product of bipartisan agreement in Congress that the department’s current plan to arrest the growing military imbalance in the Pacific is insufficient,” said Eric Sayers, a visiting fellow with AEI. “PDI funding is a good opportunity for the Biden DoD to form an early alliance with the Hill on addressing this operational gap.”

This year’s $574 million package of “logistics and security enablers” includes a “information operations” proposal that increased fivefold to $226 million; it would employ “counter-propaganda tools designed to target malign influence.” Also included is a new $44 million requirement for “electromagnetic warfare... and intelligence support to exploit, attack, protect, and manage military activities.”

DoD has assessed that if China were to use military force against Taiwan, it’s likely to complement its air and maritime blockade operations with jamming and network attacks, as well as information operations to isolate Taiwan’s authorities and populace while it controls the international narrative of the conflict.

Days after the leak of a Pentagon memo emphasizing long-range fires as an acquisitions priority for the coming 2022 budget, INDOPACOM’s report calls again for a network of ground-based, long-range missiles with ranges of more than 500 kilometers, to protect aircraft and ships. China is seen as having an overwhelming advantage in land-based cruise and ballistic missiles.

Combinations of the weapons in the proposal would “create temporary windows of localized air and maritime superiority, enabling maneuver” by U.S. forces ― to include amphibious forces capable of conducting forced entry operations, the report states. All of the above would be enabled by “expeditionary airfields for dispersal and ports for distributed fleet operations” to be developed with allies. The price tag: $8.9 billion.

The Biden administration has signaled that it would take a tough approach to China. At his Senate confirmation hearing last month, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acknowledged China as the Pentagon’s pacing threat and called Pacific Deterrence Initiative a “useful tool” that he would work with Congress to implement.

“There’s no question that we need a more resilient and distributed force posture in the Indo-Pacific in response to China’s counter-intervention capabilities and approaches, supported by new operational concepts,” Austin said ahead of his confirmation. “If confirmed, I’ll review our posture in the Indo-Pacific including our presence, capabilities, logistics, exercises, infrastructure, and capacity building and cooperation with allies and partners.”

Amid expectations of tighter defense budgets under the Biden administration, the report contains new language this year emphasizing the PDI as “a pragmatic and economically viable approach for implementing a deterrence strategy for defending U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific while mitigating risk and avoiding escalation.”

The $4.6 billion for FY22 “is less than seven-tenths of 1% of the Department of Defense’s Total Obligating Authority in FY21, and two-thirds the amount spent on the European Defense Initiative in FY20 ($5.9B),” the report reads.

The multi-year European Deterrence Initiative , which inspired the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, was used to increase the U.S. presence in Europe after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.

华盛顿——美国军方官员概述了新的支出需求，以加强对中国的威慑，包括新武器、新建设以及与美国在该地区的盟友更紧密的军事合作。

美国印太司令部周一向国会提交的一份报告呼吁在2022年至2027年间增加约270亿美元的开支，其中仅2022财年就需46亿美元。这份由印太司令菲利普·戴维森海军上将起草的报告，在去年提案的基础上做出了一些关键修改，呼吁在整个地区建设新的导弹和防空系统、雷达系统、集结区、情报共享中心、补给站和试验场，并与盟友和伙伴开展联合演习。

印太司令部再次呼吁美国在关岛建设价值16亿美元的360度全方位持续一体化防空能力，该系统将由位于普劳岛的价值2亿美元的高频雷达系统和价值23亿美元的天基雷达星座提供支持。印太司令部还提议投资33亿美元，建设射程超过500公里的地面远程火力防御系统，以构建“沿第一岛链的高生存能力、精确打击网络”。

戴维森曾表示，他的首要任务是在2026年前在关岛建立一套陆基宙斯盾系统，这将有助于保护驻扎在那里的美国公民和部队。关岛的末段高空区域防御系统（THAAD）旨在防御朝鲜导弹发射，但其唯一的AN/TPY-2雷达据称较为脆弱，无法提供360度全方位覆盖。

戴维森预计将于周四在美国企业研究所举办的活动上公布这份报告。

《防务新闻》获得的一份未加密的执行摘要指出：“本报告中概述的要求旨在通过在危机时刻展现可信的作战力量，使潜在对手相信任何先发制人的军事行动都将代价过高且极有可能失败。这包括提供多种灵活的威慑选项，包括在威慑失败的情况下全面执行作战计划。”

这份新提案在拜登政府提交2022财年预算申请前几周提交，是自国会在2021年《国防授权法案》中设立“太平洋威慑倡议”（PDI）以来，五角大楼提交的首份提案。去年的报告版本提议在2026年之前投入185亿美元，并以此为基础制定了PDI。

“这份报告体现了国会两党的共识，即国防部目前应对太平洋地区日益加剧的军事失衡的计划不足，”美国企业研究所（AEI）访问学者埃里克·塞耶斯表示。“太平洋发展倡议（PDI）的资金为拜登政府的国防部提供了一个与国会尽早结盟，共同解决这一作战缺口的良机。”

今年总额为5.74亿美元的“后勤和安全保障”方案中，包括一项“信息作战”提案，该提案的预算增加了五倍，达到2.26亿美元；它将采用“旨在打击恶意影响的反宣传工具”。此外，还包括一项新的4400万美元需求，用于“电磁战……以及用于利用、攻击、保护和管理军事活动的情报支持”。

美国国防部评估认为，如果中国对台湾动用武力，很可能会在其空中和海上封锁行动之外，辅以干扰和网络攻击，以及信息战，以孤立台湾当局和民众，同时控制这场冲突的国际舆论。

在五角大楼一份备忘录泄露几天后，该备忘录强调远程火力是即将到来的2022财年预算的采购重点，印太司令部的报告再次呼吁建立射程超过500公里的陆基远程导弹网络，以保护飞机和舰船。报告指出，中国在陆基巡航导弹和弹道导弹方面拥有压倒性优势。

报告指出，该提案中的武器组合将“创造局部空中和海上优势的临时窗口，使美军能够进行机动”，其中包括能够执行强行突入作战的两栖部队。所有这些都将通过与盟友共同开发的“用于分散部署的远征机场和用于分布式舰队作战的港口”来实现。总成本：89亿美元。

拜登政府已表明将对华采取强硬立场。在上个月的参议院确认听证会上，国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀承认中国是五角大楼面临的主要威胁，并称“太平洋威慑倡议”是一个“有用的工具”，他将与国会合作实施该倡议。

奥斯汀在获得任命确认前表示：“毫无疑问，为了应对中国的反干预能力和策略，我们需要在印太地区建立更具韧性和分散化的兵力部署，并辅以新的作战理念。如果获得确认，我将审查我们在印太地区的部署，包括我们的存在、能力、后勤、演习、基础设施、能力建设以及与盟友和伙伴的合作。”

在人们预期拜登政府将收紧国防预算的情况下，今年的报告加入了新的措辞，强调PDI是“一种务实且经济可行的方法，可以实施威慑战略，以捍卫美国在印太地区的利益，同时降低风险并避免局势升级”。

报告称，2022 财年的 46 亿美元“不到国防部 2021 财年总授权额的 0.7%，也只有 2020 财年欧洲防务倡议支出金额（59 亿美元）的三分之二”。

多年期的欧洲威慑倡议（启发了太平洋威慑倡议）在俄罗斯于 2014 年吞并克里米亚后，被用来加强美国在欧洲的存在。

乔·古尔德是《防务新闻》的资深五角大楼记者，负责报道国家安全政策、政治和国防工业的交汇点。他此前曾担任国会记者。