RED STORM RISING: As Defense Secretary Mark Esper travels to Guam and Palau to take part in ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, he is carrying with him a warning about the next battle of the Pacific: countering what he calls China’s “rule-breaking behavior, debt-backed economic coercion, and other malign activities.”
In a speech last night in Hawaii, Esper warned that China is on track to be the dominant military power in Asia by 2049, the 100th anniversary of its communist revolution. “The People’s Liberation Army continues to pursue an aggressive modernization plan to achieve a world-class military by the middle of the century,” Esper said. “This will undoubtedly embolden the PLA’s provocative behavior in the South and East China Seas and anywhere else the Chinese government has deemed critical to its interests.”
STRENGTHENING ALLIANCES, ARMING ALLIES: “U.S. engagement in the Indo-Pacific region is rooted in our long-standing security alliances, which provide an asymmetric advantage that our adversaries do not have,” Esper said, as he called on U.S. allies in the region to spend more on defense and to rely less on Chinese technology.
“The United States needs our allies and partners to contribute in ways that are fair and equitable. We need them to pursue close alignment in policies that uphold a free and open order and reject decisions that would benefit malign actors to our collective detriment,” he said. “I continue to encourage all like-minded partners to carefully consider their choices regarding telecommunications infrastructure and assess the long-term, collective risks of using Chinese state-backed vendors.”
$160 BILLION IN ARMS SALES: Esper touted the streamlined process that has facilitated $160 billion in arms sales to allies, including $22 billion in newly initiated projects in this fiscal year alone.
“By streamlining the FMS process, we have lowered costs and accelerated our response time to partner nation requests, allowing us to deliver critical capabilities more quickly and effectively,” Esper said. “We are providing F-35 aircraft to Japan, Seahawk and Apache helicopters to India, and F-16 fighter jets and M1 Abrams tanks to Taiwan, to name a few examples.”
NEW VISA RESTRICTIONS: The U.S. has been able to do little to stop China’s expansive claims over the South China Sea, which include building man-made islands out of reefs and basing weapons and planes on the island outposts.
On Wednesday, the State Department announced that the U.S. will impose visa restrictions on Chinese citizens “responsible for, or complicit in, either the large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea.”
“Beijing has pursued environmentally destructive land reclamation and militarization of disputed outposts. This has done irreparable damage to coral reefs,” a senior State Department official told reporters Wednesday. “They have also used these platforms in the South China Sea as platforms of coercion against their neighbors, expanding the reach of PRC maritime militia and civilian law enforcement vessels, often backed by the Chinese military, to intimidate Southeast Asian claimants from accessing offshore resources. These actions are provocative and destabilizing.”
“These new restrictions are a good and overdue first step,” said Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, a self-described China hawk, in a statement. “Chinese state-owned enterprises have been the tip of the Communist spear in the South China Sea. America cannot allow the China’s economic and military expansion to go unchecked, and we must keep working with our allies and partners in the region to stand up to Beijing.”
Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Tyler Van Dyke. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.
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GUARD TROOPS DISPATCHED AFTER KENOSHA VIOLENCE: Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is sending 500 state National Guard troops to Kenosha, where two people were shot to death Tuesday during protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man.
So far, the Democratic governor has not accepted an offer of 2,000 additional Guard troops made by President Trump, but in a phone call with White House officials, he did agree to the dispatch of more than 200 federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
“We will NOT stand for looting, arson, violence, and lawlessness on American streets,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. “My team just got off the phone with Governor Evers who agreed to accept federal assistance (Portland should do the same!).”
LAW AND ORDER ON THE BALLOT: In his acceptance speech on night three of the Republican National Convention, Vice President Mike Pence accused Joe Biden of ignoring the “violence and chaos engulfing cities across this country” and declared that along with democracy and economic recovery, “law and order are on the ballot.”
“President Trump and I will always support the right of Americans to peaceful protest. But riots and looting is not peaceful protest. Tearing down statues is not free speech. And those who do so will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. “Let me be clear: The violence must stop, whether in Minneapolis, Portland, or Kenosha.”
ARSON SUSPECTED IN SHIP FIRE: The fire that may have damaged the USS Bonhomme Richard beyond repair last month may have been deliberately set by a U.S. Navy sailor, a senior defense official has told the Associated Press.
The sailor was being questioned as part of the investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the ATF, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The July 12 fire burned for four days as the USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship, was docked in San Diego to undergo maintenance, causing an estimated $4 billion in damage. It has not yet been determined if the warship will have to be scrapped.
DOD IG CONSIDERS VINDMAN COMPLAINT: The attorneys for Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman confirmed that Vindman, the twin brother of Alexander Vindman, a key impeachment witness, has filed a whistleblower reprisal complaint with the Pentagon’s inspector general. A spokesperson for the office says it “has received the letter and is reviewing the request.”
“The complaint details disturbing new allegations that the President and White House officials retaliated against LTC Yevgeny Vindman for making protected disclosures, including about President Trump’s July 25, 2019 call with the Ukrainian President and serious allegations of legal and ethical violations committed by senior White House officials,” said a group of Congressional Democrats, who wrote to acting Inspector General Sean O’Donnell and urged him to open an investigation.
The letter was signed by Rep. Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform; Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and Rep. Stephen Lynch, chairman of the Oversight and Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on National Security.
COST OF ENDING NEW START A NONSTARTER: Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and congressman Smith are citing a new Congressional Budget Office report to bolster their argument that failing to extend the New START, an arms reduction treaty that expires in February, will drive the U.S. toward a dangerous nuclear arms race.
But the report itself is less alarmist, concluding: “If the United States chose to increase its forces in response to the expiration of the treaty, modest expansions could be relatively inexpensive and could be done quickly.”
The report examines various scenarios that could follow the expiration of the treaty with Russia, which limits both sides to 1,550 deployable warheads — and concludes that the cost could range from nothing up to $449 billion. “Larger expansions could be quite costly, however, and could take several decades to accomplish,” the CBO says.
“Extending the New START Treaty for a full five years is clearly the right financial and national security choice,” Menendez and Smith write. “America cannot afford a costly and dangerous nuclear arms race, particularly in the middle of our current financial, political, and health crises. We again call on the Trump Administration to extend the New START Treaty today.”
RAMMED BY RUSSIA: Video posted on Twitter shows an incident in Syria this week in which a Russian military vehicle appears to ram a U.S. combat vehicle deliberately in a confrontation in a dusty field.
The Pentagon has not commented on the encounter, which reportedly injured four U.S. troops who may have suffered “concussion-like injuries.” The office of Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said Milley talked by phone to Gen. Valery Gerasimov, his Russian counterpart, on Wednesday but did not say if the incident was discussed. “In accordance with past practice, both have agreed to keep the specific details of their conversation private,” the spokesperson said.
“If Russian troops indeed rammed a vehicle with U.S. troops inside it, which resulted in multiple injuries, then that marks an aggressive, unusual act that clearly violates the safety protocols established by both sides,” said Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran and staunch critic of the president.
“While I am relieved that no U.S. servicemembers seemed to have died in this incident, I demand that the Trump Administration treat these apparent traumatic brain injuries as the serious injuries they are instead of downplaying their severity like they have in the past,” Duckworth said in a statement. “And for the safety of our troops on the ground, Donald Trump must speak out against Vladimir Putin and demand answers as to why his troops are harassing and injuring our troops in Syria.”
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: ‘A win’: Iran to allow inspectors into two suspect sites
Washington Examiner: ‘Play dirty’: Chinese official threatens US medical supplies over Huawei fight
Washington Examiner: US intelligence community: No evidence of any foreign country undermining mail-in voting
Washington Times: China test-fires ‘carrier-killer’ missile as U.S. announces new sanctions
Stars and Stripes: Chinese Missile Drill In South China Sea Won’t Deter Navy Operations, 3rd Fleet Commander Says
Forbes: China Strengthens Navy Base In South China Sea For Aircraft Carriers
Yonhap: Esper Renews ‘Complete, Verifiable, Irreversible’ North Korea Denuke Goal, But Stresses Diplomacy
AP: TikTok CEO resigns amid US pressure to sell video app
AP: Esper visit to tiny Palau highlights US-China competition
Washington Post: Missing Fort Hood soldier found dead
Breaking Defense: Milley To Sign New Unified Command Plan; Defines SPACECOM’s Roles
Just the News: Alleged Green Beret spy: Counterintelligence plant, or threat unmasked by defector?
Military.com: Repairing Fire-Damaged USS Bonhomme Richard Would Likely Take Years, Admiral Says
The Hill: Marine Corps: Marines At Naturalization Ceremony Aired At GOP Convention Were On Official Duty
Marine Corps Times: Eat Around The Mold: Marines In Japan Served Expired Food While On COVID-19 Quarantine
Calendar
THURSDAY | AUGUST 27
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion on U.S. policy toward North Korea and inter-Korean relations with Markus Garlauskas, nonresident senior fellow at Atlantic Council and former national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council; Victor Cha, CSIS senior adviser and Korea chair; Mark Lippert, CSIS senior nonresident adviser and Korea chair; and Sue Mi Terry, CSIS senior fellow and Korea chair. https://www.csis.org/events/online-event
10 a.m. CANCELLED — Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute launches new Reagan Institute Center for Freedom and Democracy, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Rescheduled to Sept. 15. https://www.reaganfoundation.org
3 p.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center online forum: “Nuclear Nonproliferation and Strategic Nuclear Deterrence: Together Keeping America and our Global Partners Safe,” with Brent Park, deputy administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, National Nuclear Security Administration. www.mitchellaerospacepower.org
9 p.m. 1301 Constitution Ave. N.W. — Fourth and final day of the virtual Republican National Convention with the theme “Land of Greatness.” President Trump delivers remarks at 10 p.m. from White House South Lawn. Other speakers include: HUD Secretary Ben Carson; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.; Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.; Jared Kushner, senior adviser to President Trump; Ivanka Trump; daughter of President Trump; and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. https://www.2020gopconvention.com
FRIDAY | AUGUST 28
4 p.m. — Gen. James C. McConville, Army chief of staff addresses the National Guard Association of the United States two-day General Conference streamed live from Washington, D.C. Saturday speakers include: Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the new chief of the National Guard Bureau at 1 p.m.; Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Air Force chief of staff at 2 p.m.; Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, the Space Force’s first chief of space operations at 2:30 p.m.; Lt. Gen. Jon A. Jensen, the new director of the Army National Guard at 3:40 p.m.; and Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh, the new director of the Air National Guard at 4:10 p.m. www.ngaus.org/events/142nd-general-conference
TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 1
12 p.m. — Center for the National Interest webinar: “Will the Israel-UAE Agreement Bring Peace or Instability to the Middle East?” with Dennis Ross, former Middle East envoy to President Bill Clinton; Henri Barkey, former director of the Middle East Center at the Woodrow Wilson Center; Shai Feldman, president, Sapir Academic College, Israel; Geoffrey Kemp, Center for the National Interest. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
1 p.m. — American Enterprise Institute webinar: “Assessing China’s military: An inside look at the Department of Defense’s China Military Power Report,” Chad Sbragia, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China; and Zack Cooper, research fellow, AEI. https://www.aei.org/events/webinar
WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2
12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army Noon Report virtual discussion of racial issues and diversity in the Army with Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; Maj. Gen. John Evans, commanding general of Army Cadet Command; Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Sellers, the senior enlisted soldier in the Army G-4, logistics, who most recently was commandant of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy; and Sgt. Maj. Julie Guerra, the senior enlisted soldier in the Army G-2, intelligence, who previously was the command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Cyber School. https://www.bigmarker.com/ausaorg
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We’re not going to cede this region, an inch of ground if you will, to another country, any other country that thinks their form of government, their views on human rights, their views on sovereignty, their views on freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, all those things, that somehow that’s better than what many of us share.”
Defense Secretary Mark Esper, delivering a warning to China, in a speech in Hawaii.
