The United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, emphasized to Congress the necessity for a comprehensive rebuilding of military strength in response to the accelerated military expansion of the Chinese Communist Party. This includes enhancing nuclear deterrence, naval capabilities, and defense industrial base.
In the fiscal year 2026, the U.S. defense budget is set to make a “historic investment” aimed at restoring America’s military dominance to counter China’s military expansion in the Indo-Pacific region. Hegseth, along with senior officials from the Pentagon, presented the budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year to both houses of Congress on Tuesday (June 10) and Wednesday (June 11).
The Pentagon has increased the defense budget to approximately $961.6 billion for the fiscal year 2026, an increase of $113.3 billion from the 2025 fiscal year. The overall national security expenditure has surpassed the $1 trillion mark.
“This budget provides a historic investment for military preparedness, prioritizing our warriors and their needs, while the young Americans are actively responding and joining the ranks,” stated Hegseth.
The allocated funds aim to address the four-year-long issue of underinvestment in the military, as the U.S. lost its military advantage post-Cold War. Hegseth highlighted the importance of focusing resources on rebuilding the defense industrial base, reforming procurement processes, and accelerating the deployment of new weapons and technologies to ensure frontline forces receive the best equipment.
Key expenditure items in the 2026 fiscal year budget include $25 billion for the Golden Dome missile defense system, $62 billion for modernizing and maintaining nuclear weapons, $3.5 billion for the development of the 6th generation F-47 fighter jet, and $47 billion for shipbuilding plans (19 new vessels and infrastructure investments).
Hegseth underscored the significance of the U.S.’s nuclear triad system as the “silent foundation” of the overall deterrence strategy. The budget will fully fund the three major nuclear deterrent forces to ensure the U.S. maintains an efficient nuclear deterrence capability.
Regarding Navy Secretary John Phelan’s statements to Congress about the need to ramp up shipbuilding to catch up with China’s pace, he acknowledged the quantitative gap but emphasized the superior quality of U.S. ships compared to the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
Phelan indicated that China’s shipbuilding strategy extends beyond homeland defense to deploying military forces in the Indo-Pacific region to expand its geopolitical influence. The current orders for U.S. ships exceed the shipyards’ capacity for the next decade, posing challenges related to manpower and production capacity.
The issue of shipbuilding shouldn’t solely rely on the Navy for resolution, emphasized Phelan. He stressed the importance of government-wide involvement in recruiting and training workers, as well as incentivizing private sector assistance to truly rebuild America’s maritime industrial base.
Phelan also addressed maintenance issues in current contracts, highlighting restrictive intellectual property clauses that hinder military personnel from repairing equipment independently, causing delays in operational efficiency. He advocated for the “right to repair” and insisted on ensuring maintenance autonomy in all future defense contracts.
The endorsement for maintenance autonomy also received support from Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll. He mentioned that the Army, following Hegseth’s directive in April, is prohibited from signing new contracts without the maintenance clause and is actively working to include this provision in existing agreements.
In summary, the comprehensive approach to rebuild military strength, enhance nuclear deterrence, improve shipbuilding capabilities, and ensure maintenance autonomy in defense contracts stands as a pivotal strategy in responding to China’s military expansion and safeguarding America’s national security interests.