Secretary of the Air Force says war with China is not inevitable, but be ready

Based on recent meetings held with Secretary of Air Force Frank Kendall, it was noted that China’s President Xi Jinping is pursuing the same military improvements as the U.S., and a pending war may be on the horizon. Kendall has made it clear several times in recent comments that China is preparing to go to war with the United States.

During Kendall’s keynote address at the Air & Space Association’s Air, Space and Cyber conference on Monday, the secretary said its time to “think about what we've accomplished, what we need to prioritize as we move forward.” Kendall mapped out five lines of effort that are under review for reorganization within the Air Force: organization, equipment, personnel, readiness, and supporting the force.

“Last week we briefed some of our outside advisers on this effort,” Kendall said. “One of them was born in China and is a leading expert on Chinese culture, history, and government. Her reaction was interesting; her view is that the Department of Air Force's five lines of effort—organizing, equipping, personnel, readiness, and support—are essentially identical to the lines of effort Xi Jinping has been implementing since 2016 to prepare China for war with the United States.”

But China’s true military reorganization efforts have been in the works for several years.

“After the first Gulf War, China recognized that it needed to redesign and modernize its military if it hoped to compete with the United States, and to achieve its goals in the western Pacific. Particularly with the integration of Taiwan to Communist China,” Kendall said.

Kendall said China has been reoptimizing its forces for great power competition and to prevail against the U.S. and Western Pacific for over 20 years. “We must do the same,” he said.

“War is not inevitable,” he added. “And our job first and foremost is to deter aggression. We are in a race for technological and operational superiority that we can expect to last for the next several decades. Even though China is currently experiencing serious economic problems, which the President noted yesterday. This has not reduced the risk of aggression.”

The goal is to identify and begin execution of the five lines of effort by January, a range of changes that will reoptimize as part of the Air Force for great power competition.

“If we are going to deter, we must be ready for war,” Kendall added. “Again, war is not inevitable, and no one can predict when or if it will occur.”

Kendall also touched on a looming deadline to fund the federal government for the upcoming fiscal year. The White House has called on Congress to pass a short-term spending bill, a continuing resolution, to avoid a government shutdown while lawmakers try to reach a compromise on federal spending.

“As we approach the end of the fiscal year in two weeks, I do have some requests for the Congress,” Kendall said. “Do not shut down the government. Many of us have been through shutdowns, they are extremely damaging to our readiness, retention, and morale.”