Richard Shelby actually said...

We have a China that thinks long range, that we do a lot of trade with, but is determined to modernize their nuclear weapons system.

The only people I know that can rein him in would be China, if they chose to.

We have a resurgent Russia under Putin, who seems to be very venturesome, to say the least, and nobody to rein him in.

The idea that we can be challenged in terms of technological superiority is something that people don't take very seriously initially.