US Military’s Secret Weakness: It Can’t Fight Without China

The United States military depends on China for a critical component of its modern weapons: rare earth elements. These minerals are essential for producing advanced defense systems, from fighter jets to guided missiles. Without them, the US arsenal would grind to a halt. Rare earths are a group of 17 chemical elements used in magnets, electronics, and precision-guided technology. They are not actually rare in the earth’s crust, but they are difficult to extract and refine. China controls the vast majority of this processing and supply chain, giving it a strategic chokehold over global defense manufacturing. For decades, the US relied on imported rare earths without building its own refining capacity. As a result, American weapons makers now face a dangerous dependency. If China restricted exports, the Pentagon could not maintain or produce its most advanced equipment. This vulnerability is not hypothetical. In 2010, China temporarily cut off rare earth shipments to Japan during a territorial dispute. More recently, Beijing has hinted at using export controls as leverage in trade and geopolitical tensions. The US military is aware of the problem. Washington has funded new mines and processing plants, but building a domestic supply chain takes years. Until then, the world’s most powerful military remains quietly reliant on its main rival for the materials that make its weapons work.