US military makes ‘great power competition’ key strategy

The US military has put countering China and Russia at the centre of a new national defence strategy, after more than a decade and a half of focusing on the fight against terrorism.

Defence secretary Jim Mattis called China and Russia “revisionist powers” that “seek to create a world consistent with their authoritarian models”.

The national defence strategy represents the latest sign of hardening resolve by Donald Trump’s administration to address challenges from Russia and China. At the same time, he is pushing for improved ties with Moscow and Beijing to rein in North Korea.

“We will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists but great power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of US national security,” Mr Mattis said while presenting the strategy document.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the US was using a confrontational approach.

“It is regrettable that instead of having a normal dialogue, instead of using the basis of international law, the US is striving to prove their leadership through such confrontational strategies,” Mr Lavrov said. “We’re open for dialogue, we’re prepared to discuss military doctrines.”

China’s US embassy criticised the strategy, saying Beijing sought “global partnership, not global dominance”.

Elbridge Colby, deputy assistant secretary of defence for strategy and force development, said that Russia was far more brazen than China in its use of military power.

Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and intervened in Syria to support its ally, president Bashar Al Assad. But Moscow was limited by its economic resources, Mr Colby said.

China, on the other hand, was described as economically and militarily ascendant. China has embarked on a far-reaching military modernisation that Mr Colby said was in “deep contravention to our interests”.

The US military outlay each year is still far more than China and Russia. It spends $587.8bn a year on its military, compared with China’s $161.7bn and Russia’s $44.6bn.