The United States is lulling itself into a “sense of false security” over its military rivalry with China, according to a Republican senator who called for more spending on modern warfare systems and closer cooperation with allies.

Speaking at the Hudson Institute after a recent trip to Japan and South Korea, Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania senator and West Point graduate, claimed up to 90 per cent of US defence spending funded decades-old equipment and technologies. “We convince ourselves; we lull ourselves into a sense of false security,” he said.

Although China’s total defence budget was significantly lower than the US one, McCormick said China’s spending “on the new way of war … is much more comparable”.

McCormick gave drone production as an example, saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told him, “10,000 drones a day are manufactured in Ukraine”. “I don’t think we manufacture more than 100,000 drones a year in America,” he added.

The senator told the conservative think tank: “Cheap drones and autonomous systems are decisive battlefield technologies, and China dominates the world’s drone supply chain today.”“If you’re shooting down US$10,000 drones with US$4 million Patriots, that’s not sustainable in the long run,” he added.

He also said AI-related energy projects were the single most critical national security issue facing the US Congress, adding that while the US took five to six years to permit energy projects needed to power AI compute, China completes the process in under six months.

In a conversation with Mike Gallagher, a fellow at the think tank, McCormick said the US needed to work with allies such as South Korea and Japan to outcompete China in hi-tech fields.

“Japan and Korea are world leaders in robotics, batteries and chips, and for that reason, we need to work hand in hand with them on our joint national security objectives,” McCormick said.

“We have to stand with our allies on training and planning, and fighting as one military force, one military capability.”McCormick said his home state was already benefiting from investments from US allies, citing the South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha’s US$5 billion investment in the Philly Shipyard with a target of building 15 to 20 ships a year.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nippon Steel will invest US$14 billion in US Steel to fund Pennsylvania’s first new mill in 50 years. South Korea has also pledged US$25 billion in US military equipment purchases.

But recent media reports have cast doubt on the viability of Hanwha’s investment in Philadelphia, with The Chosun Daily citing high labour costs, limited production capacity and questions about the ability to attract new clients.

“There is a huge gap between the announced investment amount, actual production expansion, and profitability,” The Chosun Daily report said.

McCormick also argued that Washington must abandon old assumptions that trade would liberalise China.

He called for the revocation of China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations status, which was granted in 2000 and allows the two countries to align their trade relationship with World Trade Organization rules.

McCormick cautioned that winning the strategic contest with China required not only external military and economic strength, but also national values – an area where he believes America is currently faltering.

The senator made claims that America’s young people are now turning to socialism over capitalism, citing a recent Gallup poll. Released in September, it found that among those aged 18 to 34, 57 per cent view socialism positively, compared to 43 per cent who view capitalism positively.

“Beijing’s glad to help using fake American voices to turn Americans against their own country and the principles that have made America America. So we have to make the case for freedom again, for liberty again with confidence, starting here at home,” he said.