Still No. 1: China remains primary U.S. threat in Biden defense strategy blueprint
Eight months after Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine that has produced the biggest military conflagration in Europe since World War II, the Biden administration on Thursday rolled out the unclassified version of its 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS) that still points to China, not Russia, as the country’s No. 1 military challenge and primary strategic competitor.
For the first time, the Pentagon combined the release of the NDS with the Defense Department’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and Missile Defense Review (MDR). Pentagon officials said they took an integrated approach to the reviews.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin acknowledged Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the most serious threat to peace and stability in Europe since the end of World War II. While the Pentagon calls Russia an “acute” threat, Beijing, with its economic and military might, must be considered the most consequential strategic adversary, U.S. planners say.
