The Senate Armed Serv­ices Committee passed a $740.5 billion defense policy bill creating a new Pacific Deterrence Initiative that adds $1.4 billion in initial funding to bulk up military strength in the region against China.

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2021 also puts the formerly sidelined $1.9 billion Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii back on track with $162 million in funding.

“The best way to protect U.S. security and prosperity in Asia is to maintain a credible balance of military power, but after years of underfunding, America’s ability to do so is at risk,” the committee said in an executive summary released Thursday.

The fiscal 2021 authorization sends “a strong signal to the Chinese Communist Party that America is deeply committed to defending our interests in the Indo-Pacific,” the report said.

Not discussed is the impact the novel coronavirus, which hit the economy hard, will have on future defense budgets.

According to the summary, the $1.4 billion authorization for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative is $188.6 million above the budget request for Indo- Pacific requirements. The measure is expected to mean enhancements in missile defense, forward posture and interoperability with allies and partners.

The committee bill, passed 25-2 Wednesday, now heads to the full Senate.

The inclusion of $162 million in full funding authorization for the Hawaii radar reverses the Trump administration’s decision to zero out funding in its budget request, said U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat.

The Hawaii radar “is part of our country’s critical, layered defense. As the United States continues to confront a range of strategic threats in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, it is imperative that all Americans are protected by our ballistic missile defense system,” Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Serv­ices Committee, said in a release. “Securing full funding authorization for (the radar) was my top priority in the NDAA this year because it will help keep Hawaii safe from external threats. I will continue to advocate for its inclusion in the final, approved package.”

The committee-approved authorization directs the Defense Department to utilize about $188 million in fiscal year 2020 funding for the radar and requires the Missile Defense Agency to provide a revised plan with a timeline for completion of the project.

Two military child care centers also are authorized for construction in Hawaii, Hirono said. Aliamanu Military Reservation and Scho­field Barracks are the anticipated sites.

The bill summary states, “Two years ago, the National Defense Strategy outlined our nation’s preeminent challenge: strategic competition with authoritarian adversaries that stand firmly against our shared values of freedom, democracy and peace — namely, China and Russia.”

The nature of warfare is changing, the report notes in a reference mainly to advances in long-range missile technology by China and Russia. America’s military superiority “is in decline or in danger of declining in many areas,” it said.

The 2021 authorization act “charts a decisive course of action to implement the National Defense Strategy, regain a credible military deterrent and ultimately achieve a lasting peace,” U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Republican chairman of the committee, said in a committee news release.

With the creation of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, the defense bill “prioritizes the Indo-Pacific theater” and focuses resources on “credibility gaps,” the release said.

Adm. Phil Davidson, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith, previously submitted a $20 billion request to Congress for added defense improvements above regular funding through 2026.

“Without a valid and convincing conventional deterrent, China and Russia will be emboldened to take action in the region to supplant U.S. interests,” Davidson said in a “Regain the Advantage” report.

Last month, Inhofe and Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said they planned to establish the Pacific Deterrence Initiative. A similar European effort created after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 has received $22 billion in funding.

“Investments in theater missile defense, expeditionary airfield and port infrastructure, fuel and munitions storage, and other areas will be key to America’s future force posture in the Indo-Pacific,” the lawmakers said in an opinion piece on the website War on the Rocks.

The Pacific initiative will improve the posture of forces “by transitioning from large, centralized and unhardened infrastructure to smaller, dispersed, resilient and adaptive basing” that would be harder for China to target, the defense bill summary notes.

A maximum of $5.5 billion is authorized for the effort for fiscal 2022.

The plan approves procurement of seven battle force ships, provides an increase of $472 million for Virginia-class submarine advance procurement, authorizes $9.1 billion to buy 95 F-35 stealth fighters and establishes a Space Force reserve component but delays establishment of a Space National Guard until further study is done.

The Senate committee “encourages the Air Force” to establish an F-35A operating location in the Indo- Pacific “quickly.”

The bill also authorizes active-duty strength levels reflecting “a cautious approach” due to potential impacts of COVID-19 on recruitment and basic training capacity with the Army set for 485,000 troops; Navy, 346,730; Marines, 180,000; and Air Force, 333,475.

The Defense Department zeroed out funding for the Homeland Defense Radar- Hawaii in its earlier fiscal 2021 budget request — despite three years of congressional appropriations, Hirono previously noted.

The radar was seen by some in the Pentagon as less of a priority in a wider review of sensor needs and increasing demand for space-based sensors.

In March, Hirono pressed Defense Secretary Mark Esper on the status of the Hawaii radar, with Esper saying it hadn’t been ruled out, but “for many years now we’ve had a problem with state and local authorities giving us permission to get onto that site.”

The Missile Defense Agency was studying sites at Kaena Point and the Army’s Kahuku Training Area for the radar, which would have an 80- to 90-foot single face and the ability to look out in depth and volume for incoming missiles.

But construction site access challenges more recently became apparent. Some Native Hawaiian opposition arose at the Kaena Point site, and community concerns emerged near Kahuku.

As a result, the agency added the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai as a potentially more feasible radar site.