IN-DEPTH: Defense Budget Focuses on Growing China Threat

The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723) returns to U.S. Naval Base in Guam on Aug. 19, 2021. Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Naomi Johnson/U.S. Navy via AP

The proposed United States’ $886.3 billion Fiscal Year 2024 defense budget features a $9.1 billion program designed to beef up allied operational efficiencies and fortify installations to counter aggression in the Western Pacific by China’s growing military.

Both Senate and House armed services committees last week adopted the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) within their Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Acts (FY24 NDAA), or proposed annual defense budgets, which are set to be debated through summer and passed this fall. The $9.5 billion is a 40-percent increase from this year’s PDI allocation.