Budget readies US for possible China confrontation: Pentagon

The US military must be ready for possible confrontation with China, the Pentagon's leaders said Thursday, pushing Congress to approve the Defense Department's proposed USD 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.