WASHINGTON, D.C.(WNAX)- US defense leaders are warning about the increasing capabilities and actions of the Chinese military.

South Dakota Senator John Thune says the US has to react.

China has been making provocative moves toward Taiwan. Thune says that could be a flashpoint.

Thune says Taiwan is strategically and economically important to the US.

The US defense budget this year will be about seven hundred eighty billion dollars.