Washington, April 17
China emerged as the central strategic focus of a high-stakes US congressional hearing on missile defence, with defence officials warning that Beijing's expanding capabilities are driving a major overhaul of America's homeland security architecture.
Senior Pentagon officials repeatedly identified China as the primary long-term challenge shaping the proposed "Golden Dome" missile shield, even as lawmakers clashed over its cost, feasibility and strategic logic.
"China is our pacing competitor," Marc Berkowitz, assistant secretary of defence for space policy, told the House Armed Services subcommittee, outlining the rationale behind the new system.
He said the United States aims to "deter China from a position of strength, not confrontation", signalling that the missile defence expansion is designed as much for strategic competition as for immediate threats.
The proposed Golden Dome system is envisioned as a layered, multi-domain defence architecture capable of countering ballistic, hypersonic and advanced cruise missile threats - areas where US officials say China has made rapid advances.
Berkowitz warned that US rivals are "expanding, diversifying and increasing the sophistication of their arsenals", integrating missile and aerial systems into joint operations to challenge American power.
"These threats are designed to undermine our political will, social cohesion and ability to project power," he said.
Military commanders reinforced the assessment, pointing to a rapidly evolving threat environment in which adversaries are not only improving their missile capabilities but also cooperating with one another.
General Gregory Guillot, commander of US Northern Command and NORAD, said adversaries are "relentless in their pursuit of more capability" and are sharing data and technologies to exploit weaknesses in US defences.
General Michael Guetlein, who leads the Golden Dome initiative, warned that "for the first time in a generation, our nation's margin of safety has vanished", with the US homeland increasingly exposed to advanced missile threats.
He said the new system would integrate space-based and terrestrial defences into a unified network to counter threats emerging from land, sea, air and space.
Lawmakers, however, sharply questioned whether the system would deliver on its promise. Some argued that missile defence could be outpaced by adversaries such as China, which are developing countermeasures and alternative attack strategies.
Seth Moulton, the ranking member, warned that recent US actions have "strengthened China's hand", questioning the broader strategic coherence of current defence policies.
He also cautioned that missile defence systems are inherently limited, saying they cannot provide an "impenetrable shield" against all threats.
Officials acknowledged that adversaries routinely adapt. General Heath Collins of the Missile Defence Agency said that "throughout history... adversaries immediately [try] to counter" new missile defence capabilities.
Despite the scepticism, the Pentagon maintained that the Golden Dome is essential to restoring deterrence against near-peer competitors, particularly China, by complicating attack planning and increasing interception opportunities.
The hearing comes amid intensifying US-China rivalry across military, technological and geopolitical domains, with missile defence emerging as a key pillar of strategic competition.
Analysts note that Beijing has invested heavily in hypersonic weapons, anti-satellite systems and integrated air defence networks, challenging traditional US advantages and accelerating the push for next-generation defensive systems.
- IANS
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