Page 19 - 2020 Defence White Paper

the military capabilities of allies and friendly nations by enhancing interoperability
through combined drills in the region. The US is bolstering cooperation with Chapter 1
existing allies and partners, and seeking opportunities to cooperate with new partner
countries. It is building an expanded security network by boosting smaller-scale
multilateral cooperation, as seen in the ROK–US–Japan, US–Japan–Australia, and
US–Japan–Australia–India relationships.
On the military front, the US is establishing an optimized Joint Forces Support
System by developing the Joint Concept for Access and Maneuver in the Global
Commons (JAM-GC). It is also implementing the Dynamic Force Employment,
which increases the operational unpredictability and the strategic flexibility of
strategic assets. Furthermore, the US continues its efforts to systematize joint
operational concepts that reflect new operational requirements. This concept aims
to integrate the military capabilities of each armed service by further dispersing
the deployment of forces but connecting them with advanced battlefield networks,
and is being pursued in the direction of encompassing the Army’s MDO , the Air
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Force’s ACE , the Navy’s DMO , and the Marine Corp’s EABO . Also, it is
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continuing to pursue a multilayered missile defense system and is modernizing its
nuclear capability triad consisting of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs),
Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), and strategic bombers. The US
has deployed advanced naval and air force assets in the Asia-Pacific region such as
stealth fighters including the F-22 and the F-35, the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol
aircraft, Virginia-class nuclear submarines, unmanned underwater vehicles, and
strategic bombers.

In December 2019, President Trump signed into law with bipartisan support
from both the House of Representatives and the Senate the National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020, which compiled the largest
defense budget ever. As such, the US has increased its defense budget every
year since 2016 and consolidated the foundation for its pursuit of "peace through
strength". The 2020 NDAA authorizes a USD 21 billion year-on-year increase in
the defense budget, which amounts to USD 738 billion and represents about 3.3%
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of the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the addition of 1,400 active-duty Multi Domain Operations
personnel while comprehensively addressing contents related to the strengthening 17)
of military modernization and readiness posture, threat responses, support for Agile Combat Employment
allies and partners; and servicemember welfare issues. In particular, the NDAA 18)
Distributed Maritime
reemphasizes the threats from China and Russia and recommends policies focusing Operations
on these threats while urging the materialization of the Indo-Pacific strategy in the 19)
Expeditionary Advanced
perspective of responding to China. Base Operations

Chapter 1. Changes and Challenges in the Security Environment 17