While the Chinese foreign ministry is denying its testing of a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile, saying it was a space vehicle, the technological flexing needs to be taken note of by Taiwan and its chief allies, Global Times wrote in an editorial Sunday.
Chinese insiders say the test is not intended to spark a global arms race, but regain control of what Beijing considers its territory, according to U.S. News and World Report.
"China's military buildup will focus on the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea," the editorial from the Times, considered a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, read. "It is inevitable that China will take an upper hand over the U.S. military strength in these areas thanks to the geographical proximity and the continuous increase of China's input.
"Chinese society has not only strong expectations for this, but also strong determination and corresponding ability to realize this reversal. The U.S.'s conventional military superiority around the world will not translate into a guarantee of superiority in these regions."
This is China's region, the editorial warned the U.S., if not Taiwan.
"No matter how much military spending the U.S. increases and how much new equipment it procures, it is impossible for the U.S. to continue [to] enjoy overwhelming military superiority in China's coastal areas," the Times wrote.
"Washington needs to be realistic and rethink its approach to China."
After former President Donald Trump left office, there is growing concern about the Biden administration's hands-off approach to China and Taiwan. Even retiring Navy admirals have warned that a Chinese takeover of Taiwan is a matter of time, not capability or goal.
"We watch closely China's development of armament and advanced capabilities and systems that will only increase tensions in the region," Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters, according to U.S. News.
Republican lawmakers are sounding alarms.
"Reports that China has tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile is a chilling display of the Chinese Communist Party's capabilities and intentions," Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement early Monday.
"This should be a wakeup call for the Biden administration to overhaul export controls and fundamentally reassess our technological ties to China," McCaul said.