![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/062023-e1687284832546.jpg\")
\nPRC President Xi and SecState Blinken meet on uneasy terms<\/p>\n
\nPRC President Xi and SecState Blinken meet on uneasy terms<\/p>\n
This is quite a week in terms of Sino-US relations. President Xi of China took the top seat in “candid discussions” with Pacific area players way out west, demonstrating a new assertion of leadership in global affairs. MSM Coverage did not reflect the dramatic demonstration of a new world order. How that fits with Russian attempts to harness the Ukraine war as a meme reflecting Mr. Putin’s assertion of renewed power is uncertain, but it is being reflected in the old American tradition of the Defense Authorization, which is wending its ay through the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
With the subcommittee mark-up is some of the bi-partisan thinking behind some changes in how America will fight future conflicts. It is in the fine-print in which those thoughts of transitioning from the Global War on Terror to more traditional force-on-force combat structure familiar to the old Cold Warriors in the crowd. That cast of characters now is different as well, with China replacing the old Soviet Union as thee implacable face seeking global dominance. Here are some of those issues, reflected in a new cast of characters that jumbles a new strong India, a European Union outside the old NATO structure, and an America struggling to re-cast its military structure partly around use of correct pronouns. That is part of an untested strategic direction with much older regional tensions again in play.<\/p>\n
It is a curious time. Some of the scuttlebutt includes rumors of a Taiwan invasion as soon as November, with China in the catbird seat. There are issues on that side as well. From the mark-ups in the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) comes some of the new bi-partisan road map for the years to come. Here is a summary of where America and the world seems to be going:<\/p>\n
The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act
\n\u00b7 Bipartisan bill targets China, passes subcommittee markup
\n\u00b7 HASC worried China will lead in tech & Naval power
\nNDAA Topline $886 Billion
\n\u00b7 China outpaces U.S. in tech and naval issues; PRC war games feature massive US losses
\n\u00b7 HASC mark-ups focus on naval shipbuilding and industrial base\u2019\u2019
\n\u00b7 New: $16.5 billion for up to 13 attack submarines (Request 10) plus Amphibious warship
\n\u00b7 2 LCS decom? 355-ship Navy not sustainable
\n\u00b7 2023 Highest shipbuilding topline in U.S. history
\n\u00b7 Procurement applies to subs & $351.6 M for 550 MK-48 torpedoes
\n\u00b7 Expands Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) at $9.7 B
\n\u00b7 USAF cuts troubled ARRW hypersonic program
\n\u00b7 \u201cFuel, refueling & \u201cship sustainment\u201d added
\n\u00b7 Focus DoD intel on China and the Pacific
\n\u00b7 Co-opts Belt & Road Initiative, reduces lithium dependence on PRC
\n\u00b7 Blocks CCP \u201cConfucius Institutes\u201d
\n\u00b7 Defense spending capped at 3.3% increase over 2023
\n\u00b7 Net decline due to inflation<\/p>\n
Copyright 2023 Vic Sococtra
\nwww.vicsocotra.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PRC President Xi and SecState Blinken meet on uneasy terms This is quite a week in terms of Sino-US relations. President Xi of China took the top seat in “candid discussions” with Pacific area players way out west, demonstrating a new assertion of leadership in global affairs. MSM Coverage did not reflect the dramatic demonstration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-socotra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26075"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26078,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26075\/revisions\/26078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}