Pentagon Getting a Push to Shift Resources to Asia

A push to shift U.S. military resources to Asia to counter Chinese influence is drawing new support in Congress, where a leading lawmaker wants to compel the Pentagon to invest at least $6 billion per year in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

The legislative effort seeks to mirror the dedicated funding stream provided for years to the U.S. European Command to counter Russia. That funding, known as the European Deterrence Initiative, has been the envy of China hawks who believe the Pentagon should dedicate at least as much in funding and resources to counter China as it does Russia.

The Pentagon has directed nearly $30 billion to efforts to counter Russia over the past seven years, while Defense Secretary Mark Esper last year called the Asia Pacific region the “priority theater.” The Pentagon budget in the current fiscal year is more than $700 billion.

Read the full article and more in The Wall Street Journal.