Washington, May 18 (IANS) Former US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has warned that the United States is facing one of the most dangerous periods in its modern history, saying that China poses a broader and more formidable challenge than the Soviet Union ever did.
Gates told CBS News on Sunday that the US was confronting an unprecedented strategic environment shaped by the combined challenge of China and Russia, both nuclear-armed powers increasingly aligned against Washington.
“For the first time in our history, we face nuclear-armed adversaries in both Europe and Asia,” he said.
He warned that China’s rapid military modernisation, technological rise and industrial strength had created a strategic challenge unlike any previous American rival.
“We have not faced a country that was as technologically advanced as we are, ahead of us in a few areas, behind us in a few areas, pretty much even with us in a few others,” Gates said.
The former Pentagon Chief said China’s global reach now extends well beyond military competition.
“So whether it’s strategic communications or development assistance or trade or whatever, the Chinese are all over the world dealing with these things,” he added.
Gates made the remarks after President Donald Trump returned from a summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump had referred to the US and China as a possible “new G2”, suggesting the two countries were the world’s dominant powers.
Gates said China was approaching US power levels but had not yet surpassed America economically or militarily.
“I think our military power is greater than theirs, although they’re catching up,” the former Pentagon Chief said, while noting that China was already ahead in shipbuilding capacity.
Much of the interview focused on Taiwan and rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
Gates urged the Trump administration to move ahead with delayed arms sales to Taiwan, saying Washington needed to reinforce deterrence against Beijing.
“I think we should go forward with what we’ve agreed with Taiwan,” he said.
At the same time, Gates suggested that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan remained unlikely in the near future. Instead, he warned Beijing could pursue what Taiwanese officials describe as an “anaconda strategy” — gradually strangling Taiwan economically and militarily through blockades and pressure tactics.
“They could create a blockade or a quarantine around Taiwan anytime they wanted,” he said.
The former CIA Director also raised concerns about US military preparedness, saying wars in Iran and Ukraine had exposed shortages in precision-guided munitions and missile defence systems.
“We do need to replenish,” Gates said, while calling for a wartime-style expansion of America’s defence industrial base.
He warned that the US needed faster weapons production and drone manufacturing to compete with future military threats.
–IANS
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