Washington, April 29 The United States is sharpening its military focus on China as its primary long-term strategic challenge, with senior commanders warning that cyber capabilities and special operations forces will be critical in maintaining an edge in an increasingly contested global environment.
At a Senate hearing on the posture of US Special Operations Command and Cyber Command, Admiral Frank Bradley said American forces must simultaneously address multiple threats but remain oriented toward Beijing.
“We must also orient our force on the long-term pacing challenge of China,” Bradley told lawmakers during his testimony as he outlined a security landscape shaped by overlapping risks from Russia, Iran and transnational networks.
He said US forces no longer have “the luxury of focusing on only a single goal or mission,” describing a strategic environment defined by what officials called “simultaneity” — managing competition and conflict across regions and domains.
Cyber Command leaders stressed that technological competition, particularly in artificial intelligence, is central to countering China’s military rise. General Joshua Rudd said maintaining superiority in advanced technologies is essential to preserving US advantages.
“I think it’s critical that the US has the technological advantage in every aspect of warfighting,” he said, adding that Washington must “retain and maintain our advantage” as AI becomes more deeply embedded in military operations.
Lawmakers warned that China is actively leveraging emerging technologies. In exchanges during the hearing, officials agreed that Beijing is using artificial intelligence in military applications, underscoring the urgency of the technological race.
The Pentagon is responding through a sweeping overhaul known as “Cybercom 2.0,” aimed at strengthening the cyber workforce and accelerating innovation. Katherine Sutton, Assistant Secretary of Defense for cyber policy, said adversaries are moving rapidly to exploit vulnerabilities.
“Our adversaries have moved beyond conducting espionage and theft, and are preparing for conflict by pre-positioning disruptive capabilities inside our nation’s critical infrastructure,” Sutton said.
Responding to a question, Sutton described cyber as “the connective tissue of modern warfare.” Integration across domains is essential to counter increasingly sophisticated threats, she added.
Highlighting the growing role of partnerships in countering China, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, Bradley said strengthening alliances and building partner capacity remain central to deterrence.
He pointed to long-standing relationships in the region, emphasising that trust and credibility built over decades enable the United States to share intelligence and support partners facing evolving threats.
“Foremost and most important in any strategy of deterrence is to have that stronger alliance,” he said.
Special operations forces, which make up a small fraction of the military, provide “an indispensable asymmetric advantage,” particularly in contested environments where conventional forces may be limited.
At the same time, lawmakers expressed concern about the pace of operations and the strain on personnel, warning that sustained high demand could affect readiness over the long term.
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