Washington——

Russia’s war in Ukraine – described by senior U.S. officials as a threat to the United States itself – still lags behind China in terms of long-term threats to U.S. security, senior Pentagon officials say.

Eli Ratner, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, issued the warning in prepared testimony for Wednesday’s House Armed Services Committee hearing on security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The People’s Republic of China [People’s Republic of China] “This continues to pose the most comprehensive and serious challenge to our national security,” according to a copy of Ratner’s opening remarks obtained by VOA.

Ratner warned: “The People’s Republic of China remains the only country with the will and increasing ability to dominate the Indo-Pacific and displace the United States.” in the South and East China Seas, along the Line of Actual Control with India and beyond. “

This is not the first time Ratner has dealt with a growing threat from Beijing.

In October, he accused the Chinese military of a “dramatic increase” in dangerous behavior in the East and South China Seas.

Ratner also separately warned that Chinese leaders were “increasingly turning to the People’s Liberation Army” [People’s Liberation Army] as a means of coercion. “

Separately, the Pentagon’s annual report on China’s military power said China’s nuclear arsenal was growing faster than expected and that Beijing was building the infrastructure needed to further expand its nuclear capabilities.

China has responded to such accusations by accusing the United States of “hyping up” the threat.

On Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a warning of his own, highlighting the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“The United States supports Ukraine because it is the right thing to do. But we also support Ukraine because it is critical to our own security,” Austin told a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Ramstein, Germany.

“In a world where aggression and dictatorship run rampant, where tyrants are emboldened and where dictators believe they can wipe democracy off the map, America will face serious new dangers,” he said.

U.S. intelligence officials recently said that threats from Russia and China are interconnected and that Russia’s war strengthens China’s leadership.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers earlier this month that Beijing had managed to extract long-sought concessions from Moscow in exchange for Russian support for the war in Ukraine.

CIA Director William Burns said Russia’s success in Ukraine could “fuel the ambitions of China’s leadership in contingencies ranging from Taiwan to the South China Sea.”

Ratner will tell U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that the Defense Department is working to strengthen key alliances in the Indo-Pacific region and develop what he calls a “regional power posture,” including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia.

He will also testify that the Pentagon’s proposed 2025 budget will prioritize investments in air, sea and undersea power, as well as modernizing U.S. nuclear forces, with an eye on Beijing’s own military modernization efforts.