Several hundred protesters gather for an anti-war demonstration to oppose US military aid to Ukraine in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on February 19, 2023. Photo: VCG

A recent study conducted by the US military hyped that countries such as China and Russia are gearing up for unprecedented hybrid warfare tactics targeting the US homeland. Chinese observers believe that the US is exaggerating the so-called threat from China and Russia in order to garner more support from Congress for the development of cutting-edge military weapons systems as part of its strategy to contain China and bolster its waning hegemony.

According to media reports, the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) warned in a report that China, Russia, and others are heavily investing "in hybrid and irregular capabilities, such as information and cyber operations, to attack soft targets and systems within the territory of the US and its Allies."

The report also emphasizes that China and Russia are actively investing in strategic bombers, submarines, and even hypersonic weapons to enhance their long-range conventional strike capabilities, posing threats to the US homeland.

As nuclear powers, China, the US and Russia have long possessed intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the US has been threatening China and Russia for decades, said Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert. 

One reason why the US hyped the old cliche of the so-called threat from countries including China is because its intercontinental missiles need to be retired and upgraded, but numerous problems have emerged regarding the launch of a new intercontinental missile development program, so the US military needs to "plead poverty" to the Congress to get support, Fu said. 

The report highlighting the threats from adversaries also reveals the US' anxiety about maintaining its decreasing hegemony, Fu said.

Hyping the threats from adversaries would facilitate the US' plan of actively developing hypersonic missiles and medium-range ballistic missiles, and then deploy them around China, which serves its strategy of containing China, Fu noted.