
Indications  are that the U.S has never in its history been so threatened by China’s  advancing military prowess, as it is now. China’s overall strategy  seems to be geared towards exploiting perceived U.S military weaknesses,  rather than trying to compete with the U.S Pentagon on all war fronts.  There is little optimism that the U.S is proactively develop  counteraction strategies and warfare equipment that could serve as  effective defense mechanisms against threats from China, North Korea,  Russia and Iran, among other potential military aggressors.
 
 According to a recent report published by  thehill.com,  the bipartisan U.S. China Commission is poised to release its annual  report to Congress that details some of the specifics. China’s PLA  (Peoples Liberation Army) has reportedly deployed two brigades of DF-21D  ballistic missiles, infamously called “carrier killers.” The U.S. has  no defensive system in its arsenal that could defeat the highly  sophisticated DF-21D (Dong Feng 21Ds).
 
 According to Sen. Colin Kenny (former chair of the Senate  Committee on National Security and Defense) in an article published in        iPolitics.ca,  China’s advantage in “the new military chess game” is well exemplified  in the DF-21D. This fearsome weaponry is said to be the world’s first  land-based missile system – capable of sinking aircraft carriers more  than 1,500 kilometres away, or a bit more than the distance between  Winnipeg and Vancouver. The DF-21Ds feature multiple warheads that can  carry conventional or nuclear weapons.
 
 Another indication of China’s intent with regards to nuclear capabilities was reported on about four months back.        Businessinsider.com reported that China confirmed the existence of the long-rumored  Dongfeng-41A next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile, which  can supposedly carry up to 10 nuclear warheads a distance of 12,000  kilometers.
 
 According to thehill.com,  of particular concern is China’s emphasis on nuclear capabilities,  which the Obama administration has opted not to detail in its annual  reports to Congress. This makes it seem like the Obama administration  doesn’t want to put public pressure on the Chinese government for its  aggressive military developments designed to threaten the U.S.
 
 Frank Kendall, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,  Technology and Logistics is said to recently have provided a document to  Congressional staff laying out key warfare domains where the U.S. is  losing superiority to China, such as:
 
 • China could target the U.S. surface fleet and overseas bases at risk in the Western Pacific; 
 • China could challenge U.S. dominance of the air by the year 2020;
 • China is rapidly advancing in space and could prevent the functionality of U.S. satellites; 
 • Chinese cyber assault on U.S. computer networks continue unabated.
 
 Additionally, according to  WantChinaTimes.com (quoting the latest report from the US Congress' US-China Economic  and Security Review Commission), China's rapid military modernization  is also altering the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific and could  "engender destabilizing security competition" between countries such as  Japan and India; while simultaneously exacerbating disputes over  regional hotspots such as Taiwan, the Korean peninsula and islands in  the East and South China seas. As the US is cutting its national defense  budget, the US-Chinese military balance in the Asia-Pacific is tilting  in favor of China. 
 
 A major concern around this stated development is that while China  is building up its naval power, American naval supremacy is declining  and may eventually prove inferior to a challenge from its Chinese  counterpart.        The WantChinaTimes.com report concludes that the Congress report explicitly highlights  the threat of China's military development – which may help those who  advocate a higher national defense budget. Similarly, the Pentagon's  report underlining the US military edge over China may be considered an  attempt to cement the confidence of US allies in the region. 
 
 So is the U.S really prepared to face a military challenge from  China, or is she not? Many military analysts seem to favor the view that  the U.S is still the hands-down favorite to win any major confrontation  with China. Sadly, it may however not be until a war actually breaks  out that it will become clear who has the upper hand, and who has been  fooling who. By then, if the U.S will be proven not to be in a position  to counter and win such a confrontation, the consequence may well be  that the U.S military will end up fatally wounded into military  insignificance – leaving “vultures” such as ISIS to gleefully pick up  the pieces.