On December 11, 2013, CSBA Vice President and Director of Studies Jim Thomas testified before the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces of the House Armed Services Committee on the strategic issues tied to China’s modernization of its naval forces.
"While the PLA has fielded a wide and growing array of advanced capabilities to counter U.S. power projection, the United States has spent insufficient time, intellectual effort, and resources responding to new and innovative PLA capabilities," warned Thomas.
In his remarks, Mr. Thomas discussed key trends and priorities in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army naval modernization program, as well as China’s development of an anti-ship ballistic missile; and addressed the implications of this modernization effort for U.S. and allied operational and force planning.
"The cumulative effect of China’s modernization efforts is that the military balance in the western Pacific is being altered, and the costs to the United States of projecting power into the region are rising dramatically," he concluded.