US Draws Lessons From Putin's War In Ukraine To Fend Off Possible Attack By Xi Jinping

The Deputy Defense Chief said the U.S. is learning important lessons from Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine to fend off a possible conflict with Xi Jinping.

What Happened: Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in an interview with Bloomberg, said the U.S. has learned lessons from the Ukraine war that includes the importance of establishing a reliable supply chain for ammunition and promoting innovation in space technology.

"There are many advantages we've gained for a potential Pacific challenge from the Ukraine conflict."

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"We're learning to grow our industrial base and to study that industrial base, which has been for the last 60 years in a bit of a feast and famine cycle."

The Pentagon official spoke about Washington's significant obstacle in its efforts to provide Ukraine with weapons and ammunition to resist Moscow's invasion. She said many defense contractors have been hesitant to increase their production of munitions, as they fear that the U.S. may halt its purchases in the next one or two years.

She added that the defense department has pushed to give munitions manufacturers more predictability via longer-term contracts.

"We're thinking about how we use those authorities right now to generate faster and higher-capacity delivery of munitions to provide our forces in the Pacific," Hicks said.

She added that even though the U.S. is currently helping Ukraine to stop Putin, Washington's primary focus will remain on the competition with China in the Pacific. "We're not trying to weigh between two theaters. We have a clear strategy that's focused on China."

"Our focus is making sure that the PRC leadership wakes up every day and says today is not the day to undertake aggression that threatens US interests."

Why It Matters: Amid China's ongoing tussle with Taiwan and the U.S. support for Taipei, the experts have warned of possible arm conflict between Washington and Beijing.

In January, the U.S. Air Force General, Mike Minihan, wrote to the leadership of its roughly 110,000 members, that, "My gut tells me we will fight in 2025."

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