US panel calls for probe to see if China weakening US military
A US advisory commission has warned that China’s growing military prowess may adversely affect the US military, calling on Washington to probe the implications of outsourcing military projects to China.
In its annual report released on Wednesday, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission noted that China was posing a rising threat to US national security through infiltrating various organizations.
To curb the trend, the commission suggested that Congress should ban Chinese state enterprises from acquiring control of US firms.
The panel also noted that China was conducting critical reforms in its military structure and would get more powerful by the day, specially since it was about to complete its first domestically produced aircraft carrier.
The aircraft carrier would be China’s second one in service. Beijing announced on Tuesday that its conventionally-powered CNS Liaoning (CV-16) aircraft carrier was ready for a deterrent “war”, a change from its previous status as a training ship.
A bipartisan body of 2,000 members who monitor various aspects of relations with China, the panel also called on Congress to allow more US Navy patrols in the South China Sea, a move that has already drawn anger from Beijing.
China claims sovereignty over most of the sea, but the US and a number of other countries neighboring the sea dispute those claims.
The US and its regional allies have been conducting so-called “freedom-of-navigation” patrols in the South China Sea, which is one of the world's busiest trade routes and channels more than $5 trillion worth of maritime trade annually.
“China’s pursuit of expeditionary capabilities, coupled with the aggressive trends that have been displayed in both the East and South China Seas, are compounding existing concerns about China’s rise among US allies and partners in the greater Asia,” the commission said in its report.
It also advised Congress to task the US Government Accountability Office with “examining the extent to which large-scale outsourcing of manufacturing activities to China is leading to the hollowing out of the US defense industrial base.”
The report came after China showcased its advanced J-20 stealth fighter for the first time earlier this month. According to reports, the aircraft is a direct rival to America’s advanced F-22 stealth warplane.
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