Ronald O\'rourke

China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.s. Navy Capabilities-background and Issues for Congress Ronald O\'rourke

Publisher Marketing: China is building a modern and regionally powerful Navy with a modest but growing capability for conducting operations beyond China's near-seas region. The question of how the United States should respond to China's military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, is a key issue in U. S. defense planning. The question is of particular importance to the U. S. Navy, because many U. S. military programs for countering improved Chinese military forces would fall within the Navy's budget. As a part of the U. S. strategic rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific region announced in January 2012, Department of Defense (DOD) planning is placing an increased emphasis on the Asia- Pacific region. Observers expect that, as a result, there will be a stronger emphasis in DOD planning on U. S. naval and air forces. Administration officials have stated that notwithstanding constraints on U. S. defense spending, DOD will seek to protect initiatives relating to the U. S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Decisions that Congress and the executive branch make regarding U. S. Navy programs for countering improved Chinese maritime military capabilities could affect the likelihood or possible outcome of a potential U. S.-Chinese military conflict in the Pacific over Taiwan or some other issue. Some observers consider such a conflict to be very unlikely, in part because of significant U. S.-Chinese economic linkages and the tremendous damage that such a conflict could cause on both sides. In the absence of such a conflict, however, the U. S.-Chinese military balance in the Pacific could nevertheless influence day-to-day choices made by other Pacific countries, including choices on whether to align their policies more closely with China or the United States. In this sense, decisions that Congress and the executive branch make regarding U. S. Navy programs for countering improved Chinese maritime military forces could influence the political evolution of the Pacific, which in turn could affect the ability of the United States to pursue goals relating to various policy issues, both in the Pacific and elsewhere. China's naval modernization effort encompasses a broad array of weapon acquisition programs, including anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs), anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs), submarines, surface ships, aircraft, and supporting C4ISR (command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) systems. China's naval modernization effort also includes reforms and improvements in maintenance and logistics, naval doctrine, personnel quality, education and training, and exercises.