<p>China has plans to become the world&rsquo;s superpower by 2050, retired US Navy Captain James Fanell told lawmakers on Thursday. ;</p>
<p>At its current pace, the Chinese Navy will be double the size of the US Navy by 2030 &#8211; and could have better tech. &ldquo;The quality of China&rsquo;s warships already presents a credible threat across the Asia-Pacific today,&rdquo; said Fanell, and while the US currently has better tech, China is quickly closing the gap.</p>
<p>China debuted its first home-built aircraft carrier in April. ;In recent weeks, China has conducted drills with bomber aircraft in the contested South China Sea region and has installed anti-ship and air-to-air defense outposts on islands claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines.</p>
<p>China has also been accused of using &ldquo;debt trap diplomacy&rdquo; to seize control of ports in poor countries when those countries fail to repay China for infrastructure investments. These ports could later be used for military use, said Fanell. ;</p>
<p>China in 2017 built is very fist overseas military base in Djibouti less than 10 miles from a key American base there. The Pentagon last month accused China of directing lasers from that base to harm American pilots flying over the region. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not their words, but their actions and enormous expenditures that point to [China&rsquo;s] expanding capability to use their maritime forces to coerce, intimidate, and use force globally, as it is already doing regionally,&rdquo; said Fanell, who urged lawmakers to do more to confront China and to protect Taiwan ;from Beijing. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The United States has about a decade to prepare to deter a China well on its way to global power projection,&rdquo; said Fanell. &ldquo;We have the ability to maintain military superiority if we commit to that goal. We can organize and lead our allies to higher levels of political coordination and economic security.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p><strong>Author&rsquo;s Note:</strong> It&rsquo;s time to take our heads out of the sand and admit that China is not a friendly country nor an ally. We need to take this ;warning seriously and make sure that our military will always be superior. Right now China&rsquo;s technology isn&rsquo;t quite as good as ours, but if they keep stealing our tech it will be soon.</p>