
The U.S. military must be ready for possible confrontation with China, the Pentagon's leaders said Thursday, pushing Congress to approve the Defense Department's proposed $842 billion budget that would modernize the force in Asia and around the world.
"This is a strategy-driven budget — and one driven by the seriousness of our strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in testimony before the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense.