Nancy A. Youssef
WASHINGTON—China is expanding its military in a bid to “revise the global rule set” and undo the post-World War II national security framework, the highest ranking military officer said Tuesday.
Army Gen. Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said China’s investment in its navy, hypersonic missiles, cyber and other technologies are designed to ensure that it, along with Russia and the U.S., are world-leading nations. Such a rise would end a post-World War II era in which Russia and the U.S. were the only superpowers.
“We are going into a world that is more complex geo-strategically,” Gen. Milley said at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit. “We are entering into a world in which technology is advancing at a rate and speed that has never been seen in human history. So it’s much more complex, potentially more unstable.”
Gen. Milley said that while the U.S. currently is ahead of China militarily, “the question is going forward.” He said the U.S. must modernize to stay ahead.
China was one of several national-security topics that Gen. Milley discussed during the forum.
Amid heightened tensions about the deployment of Russian troops near Ukraine, Gen. Milley described the movements as “quite serious,” adding they were “different in scale and scope than what we saw in April,” when Russia last moved troops near that border.
“In my view, there is a lot of space here for diplomatic off-ramps, de-escalation,” Gen. Milley said.
On Tuesday, President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke over a secure video line to address what the U.S. has described as “large and unusual” troop movement near Russia’s border with Ukraine in recent weeks. Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine grew last week, with U.S. officials citing new intelligence reports about a troop buildup on the border. The general said he spoke with his NATO counterparts Monday about the Russian buildup and that there was resolve amongst the alliance.
Gen. Milley also addressed declining American confidence in the military, noted in a survey released earlier this month by Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. He also addressed personal attacks he has faced during his tenure and growing public perceptions that the military has become politicized, according to the survey.
“Sometimes it’s disappointing when they become ad hominem attacks,” Gen. Milley said. “Where it becomes risky in my view is…when people start ripping apart the institutions of this country. That could potentially become dangerous. The institution of the military is critical to the defense of this republic.”
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