Pentagon releases updated report on China’s growing military power

“To advance the CCP’s agenda, the People’s Liberation Army continues to pursue an aggressive modernization plan to achieve a world-class military by the middle of the century. 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.”

REPORT PREVIEWED: The 2020 China Military Power report will be previewed by Chad Sbragia, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, in a webinar hosted by the American Enterprise Institute at 1 p.m. The discussion will also be streamed live at https://www.defense.gov/Watch/Live.

“For 20 years, the Department of Defense has provided Congress with the “Annual Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China,” known informally as the China Military Power report,” says AEI. “This is one of the most important resources for understanding the Chinese Communist Party, the People’s Liberation Army, and how US policymakers view China and its strategic ambitions. The 2020 report explores key security developments and provides new insights into China’s strategic ambitions in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”

REINFORCING GUAM: During his trip, Esper inspected the United States’s buildup of defenses on Guam, a U.S. territory that, because of its location less than 3,000 miles from China, would play an outsize role in the event of a conflict with Beijing.

“It also happens to be perfectly placed from a military standpoint,” American Enterprise Institute’s Zack Cooper told Washington Examiner defense reporter Abraham Mahshie. “It’s relatively close in Pacific terms to Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, even Taiwan. So, it’s sort of a logical place to be a hub for activity in the region.”

The downside, reports Mahshie, is that it’s close enough to China that it can be barraged by advanced ballistic missiles, which explains why missile defense is a priority.

Esper described Guam as a “strategic hub for our presence in the region” in his Hawaii speech. “This includes the addition of air and missile defense capabilities, advanced intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance systems, and our ongoing bomber task force missions that prepare us to defend the Indo-Pacific at a moment’s notice,” he said.

Good Tuesday 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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HAPPENING TODAY: Over the objections of the state’s Democratic governor, President Trump travels this afternoon to Kenosha, Wisconsin, which has been trying to tamp down violent protests following the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man, seven times in the back by police.

“I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together,” Gov. Tony Evers wrote in a letter to Trump.

At his Monday news conference, Trump defended 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who has been charged with the murder of two men during protests in Kenosha.

“And that was an interesting situation. You saw the same tape as I saw,” Trump said, when asked if he would condemn the actions of “vigilantes” like Rittenhouse. “He was trying to get away from them, I guess — it looks like. And he fell, and then, they very violently attacked him. And it was something that we’re looking at right now, and it’s under investigation. But I guess he was in very big trouble. He would have been — he probably would have been killed.”

BIDEN’S RESPONSE: In a statement posted on his campaign page, Joe Biden accused Trump of being unwilling to rebuke violence on both sides.

“He wouldn’t even repudiate one of his supporters who is charged with murder because of his attacks on others. He is too weak, too scared of the hatred he has stirred to put an end to it,” Biden said. “I urge the President to join me in saying that while peaceful protest is a right, a necessity, violence is wrong, period. No matter who does it, no matter what political affiliation they have. Period.”

BIDEN ON RUSSIAN RAMMING: In remarks in Pittsburgh on Monday, Biden accused Trump of turning a blind eye to a recent incident in Syria one week ago, in which a Russian vehicle deliberately rammed U.S. military vehicles, injuring four American soldiers.

“It’s been reported that Russian forces just attacked American troops in Syria, injuring our service members. Did you hear the president say a single word? Did he lift one finger?” Biden said. “Never before has an American president played such a subservient role to a Russian leader. It’s not only dangerous — it’s humiliating and embarrassing for the rest of the world to see. It weakens us.”

In a statement last week, the Pentagon blamed the confrontation on “deliberately provocative and aggressive behavior” by the Russians and credited U.S. forces for “de-escalating the “unfortunate encounter through professionalism and restraint.”

“We have advised the Russians that their behavior was dangerous and unacceptable,” said chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. “We expect a return to routine and professional deconfliction in Syria and reserve the right to defend our forces vigorously whenever their safety is put at risk.”

“We saw the incident last week where a Russian vehicle intentionally rammed an American vehicle,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an interview on Washington radio station WMAL on Monday. “These are the kinds of things that we work closely with the Russians to say this is unacceptable behavior — that America will respond.”

BERGDAHL REVISITED: Army Maj. Justin Oshana, who was the lead Army prosecutor in the case against Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, has an op-ed in the Washington Post in which he says that President Trump’s public comments about Bergdahl almost cost him a conviction.

During his campaign, Trump denounced Bergdahl as a “dirty rotten traitor” and advocated his execution by firing squad.

“I do not have a lot of sympathy for Bergdahl. His actions caused immeasurable suffering to better men and women than he could ever hope to be,” Oshana writes of Bergdahl, who was freed in 2014 when President Barack Obama agreed to swap five high-ranking members of the Taliban for his release.

“But Bergdahl, like every American, deserved to have his actions judged, not on the campaign trail, not on cable news, but in a court of law,” Oshana writes. “He did not deserve to be condemned by the president before he got his day in court.”

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces upheld Bergdahl’s conviction and dishonorable discharge 3 to 2.

“This case is unique in modern American military jurisprudence. Let us hope that we shall not see its like again,” wrote Chief Judge Scott Stucky in his partial dissent.

HAWKEYE CRASH: A crew of four flying in a Navy E-2C Hawkeye survived a crash in Virginia by bailing out of the aircraft.

“The two pilots and two crewmembers bailed out of the aircraft safely through the main cabin door. At the time of the crash, the E-2 was conducting a training flight,” said Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg of Naval Air Force Atlantic. “The pilots and aircrew bailed out of the aircraft using parachutes located in the aircraft. The crew are required to strap on the parachutes when they get aboard the aircraft.”

The aircraft was based out of Naval Station Norfolk and crashed near Wallops Island shortly before 4 p.m. on Monday, Cragg said in a statement.

The Hawkeye is a command-and-control type aircraft with twin turboprops and a distinctive satellite dish affixed to the top of it. It is not immediately clear what caused the plane to crash.

DARPA’S NEW HEAD: Victoria Coleman has been named to be the next director of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or “DARPA.”

“Dr. Coleman’s career spans over 30 years in academia, the private sector, and government, including previous service as the founding Chair of DARPA’s Microsystems Exploratory Council and membership on the Defense Science Board,” said the Pentagon in a statement. “She has led cutting edge research and development across the technology sector.’

“Established in 1958 as part of the U.S. Department of Defense, DARPA is designed to anticipate, explore, and achieve the concepts and technology on which the Nation’s future deterrent and defense capabilities depend,” the statement said.

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: China: ‘Radical’ Trump administration building ‘new Iron Curtain’

Washington Examiner: Mark Esper Guam visit reflects strategic importance in Pacific defense posture

Breaking Defense: Small RIMPAC Ends With Big Allied Missile Barrage

Reuters: Taiwan Says China Still Lacks Ability For Full Assault On Island

Bloomberg: Pompeo Sees Arms Control Deal With Russia By The End Of The Year

New York Times: At India-China Border, Troops Scream But Don’t Slug

Washington Examiner: Appeals court rejects Flynn effort to force judge to drop case immediately

Washington Examiner: Army lieutenant suspended amid investigation into Holocaust joke posted on TikTok

New York Times: The Few, the Proud, the White: The Marine Corps Balks at Promoting Generals of Color

Washington Post: The Targeted Assassinations That Have Shaken Afghanistan

AP: At Military Academies, COVID-19 Is The Enemy To Be Defeated

AP: Facing a coronavirus crisis, Israel calls in the army

AP: Fact check: Trump tweets distort truth on National Guard

Air Force Magazine: 8th AF Boss on Hypersonics, B-21, Long-Range Strike, and B-52 Re-Engining

Breaking Defense: Marines Explore Robots & 5G Networks For Future Wars

Seapower Magazine: Something Special: U.S. SOCOM Continues to Modernize Its Fleet of Smaller Surface Craft

Defense News: The Navy’s New Amphibious Landing Craft Are Coming Off The Lines

AP: U.S. Ambassador Visits Marine Veteran Imprisoned in Russia

Air Force Magazine: NATO: Russian Su-27 Violates Danish Airspace While Pursuing B-52

UPI: Carrier USS George H.W. Bush Leaves Drydock After 18 Months Of Upgrades

Wall Street Journal: Baath Party Archives Return To Iraq, With The Secrets They Contain

Defense News: Opinion: Close The Pentagon — It’s Too Big Of A Target

Calendar

TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 1

11 a.m. — Foundation for Middle East Peace and the Middle East Institute virtual discussion on “The Implications of the Israel-UAE Deal,” with Elizabeth Tsurkov, research fellow at the Forum for Regional Thinking; Sam Bahour, freelance business consultant at Applied Information Management; Marwa Fatafta, Middle East/North Africa policy manager at Access Now; and Lara Friedman, FMEP president; and Khaled Elgindy, senior fellow and director of the MEI Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs. https://fmep.org/event/fmep-mei-webinar-series

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

2:30 p.m. — Assistant Air Force Secretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Will Roper hosts an online “Ask Me Anything” event on AFVentures, a collaboration among Air Force Acquisition, AFWERX, and AF Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer to facilitate commercial innovators and private capital investment in helping the Air Force solve problems, with Col. Nate Diller, AFWERX director. Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch

4 p.m. — Georgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs webinar: “Toward a Post-Nuclear Just Peace,” with Rev. Drew Christiansen, co-editor of A World Free From Nuclear Weapons; and Eli McCarthy, editor of A Just Peace Ethic Primer: Building Sustainable Peace and Breaking Cycles of Violence.” https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/events

WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2

10 a.m. — Air Force Association Mitchell Institute Nuclear Deterrence Forum with Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy Rob Soofer. https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org

10:30 a.m. — The SETA Foundation at Washington D.C. webinar: “A Conversation Fuat Oktay, vice president of Turkey,” with Burhanettin Duran, Kadir Ustun, Kilic Kanat of the SETA Foundation. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register

11 a.m. — Foundation for Middle East Peace webinar: “The Implications of the Israel-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Deal,” with Annelle Sheline, research fellow for the Middle East at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft; Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations; James Zogby, managing director of Zogby Research Services; Khaled Elgindy, director of the Middle East Institute’s Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs; and Lara Friedman, president of FMEP. https://fmep.org/event/fmep-mei-webinar

11 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Center for a New American Security virtual discussion: “Toward a More Proliferated World?” with Rebecca Friedman Lissner, assistant professor at the U.S. Naval War College Strategic and Operational Research Department; Vipin Narang associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Security Studies Program; Ilan Goldenberg, director and senior fellow at the CNAS Middle East Security Program; and Eric Brewer, deputy director and senior fellow at the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues. https://www.csis.org/events/online

11:50 a.m. — The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement Counter-UAS Summit, beginning with Air National Guard Maj. Casey Robbins, air defense officer for nuclear and homeland defense operations at the Joint Staff’s Homeland Defense Division. https://www.idga.org/events-counteruas-usa

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

12 p.m. — Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies virtual discussion: “Addressing Veteran Underemployment,” with retired Army Gen. Jack Keane, former vice chief of staff of the Army; and Thomas Mahnken, president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. https://sais.jhu.edu/campus-events

2:40 p.m. — NASA holds a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket full-scale booster test, followed by a media teleconference with Bruce Tiller, manager of the NASA SLS boosters office; and Charlie Precourt, vice president of propulsion systems at Northrop Grumman. https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

3 p.m. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii — Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Adm. Phil Davidson, Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command take part in the official 75th World War II Commemoration Ceremony on the fantail of battleship Missouri memorial.

THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 3

2:45 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Europe virtual Space Workshop, with the theme “Cybersecurity in and for Space Operations.” Speakers include 3:05 a.m. — Jamie Shea, strategic studies professor at Exeter University; 3:20 a.m. — Gordon Davis, deputy assistant secretary-general at the NATO Defence Investment Division; 3:35 a.m. — French Brig. Gen. Frederic Pesme, deputy director of the NATO International Military Staff’s Policy and Capabilities Division; 3:50 a.m. — Carine Claeys, special envoy at the European External Action Service Space Task Force; 5:05 a.m. — Pierre Delsaux, deputy director-general of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space; 7 a.m. — Kaitlyn Johnson, associate director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Aerospace Security Project; 8:40 a.m. — Martin Ditter, head of the European Space Agency’s European Space Security and Education Center; and 8:55 a.m. — Air Force Lt. Gen. John Thompson, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center. https://eu.eventscloud.com/ehome/afceaeuropeworkshop-space2020/programme/

9 a.m. — United States Institute of Peace webinar: “The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Faces the Future: What to Expect from the 27th ASEAN Regional Forum,” with Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell; former Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Pham Quang Vinh; Mely Caballero-Anthony, professor of international relations at Nanyang Technological University Singapore; Byron Chong, research associate at the National University of Singapore’s Center on Asia and Globalization; Drew Thompson, visiting senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s School of Public Policy; and Brian Harding, senior expert for Southeast Asia at USIP. https://www.usip.org/events/asean-faces-future

10 a.m. — Middle East Institute webinar: “Iran, Israel and the Changing Geopolitics of the Middle East,” with Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies; Meir Javedanfar, senior research fellow at the Meir Ezri Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies; Ksenia Svetlova, senior research analyst at the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policy; and Alex Vatanka, director of the MEI Iran Program. https://www.mei.edu/events

10 a.m. — George Washington University School of International Affairs webinar: “U.S.-Republic of Korea relations and cooperation,” with Republic of Korea Ambassador to the United States Soo Hyuck Lee. https://elliott.gwu.edu/event-calendar

1 p.m. — U.S. Navy Memorial webinar with the Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. John Nowell. https://www.navymemorial.org/new-events

5 p.m. — American Enterprise Institute webinar: “America’s place in the world: How lessons from the past can guide the future of foreign policy,” with Hal Brands, resident scholar, AEI; Francis Gavin, director, Henry Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins University; Kori Schake, Director, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, AEI; Robert Zoellick, senior fellow, Belfer Center, Harvard University. https://www.aei.org/events/webinar-americas-place-in-the-world

7 p.m. — President Trump delivers remarks live at campaign event from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 7

Labor Day — Daily on Defense will not be published as we observe the federal holiday.

MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 14

9 a.m. — Day one of the Air Force Association 2020 Virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference, with Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett; Gen. Timothy Ray, commander, Air Force Global Strike Command; Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander, Pacific Air Forces; Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa. Full agenda at: https://www.afa.org/events/calendar/2020-09-14/air-space-cyber-conference

TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 15

9 a.m. — Day two of the Air Force Association 2020 Virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference, with Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond; Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics; and others. Full agenda at: https://www.afa.org/events/calendar/2020-09-14/air-space-cyber-conference