The Pentagon on Tuesday released a report that lays out US concerns about China’s growing military might, underscoring worries about a possible attack on Taiwan.
The key concern is that as China upgrades its military equipment and technology, and reforms how it trains and develops troops, it becomes more confident in its ability to wage a regional conflict, a senior US defense intelligence official told reporters.
Beijing has made it clear that asserting sovereignty over Taiwan is its top priority, they said.
Photo: AP
Although China could easily fire missiles at Taiwan, it does not yet have the military capability to successfully invade, the official added.
They spoke on condition of anonymity to provide more detail on intelligence findings in the report, which was written by the US Defense Intelligence Agency.
Its release came a week after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) called on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to better prepare for combat.
The report talks broadly about the steps China is taking to modernize its military and expand its operations around the globe.
The worry is that China would reach the point where leaders would decide that using military force for a regional conflict is more imminent, the official said.
“Beijing’s long-standing interest to eventually compel Taiwan’s reunification with the mainland and deter any attempt by Taiwan to declare independence has served as the primary driver for China’s military modernization,” the report says. “Beijing’s anticipation that foreign forces would intervene in a Taiwan scenario led the PLA to develop a range of systems to deter and deny foreign regional force projection.”
The PLA is “likely to grow even more technologically advanced, with equipment comparable to that of other modern militaries,” it said.
The US official said that China has been working hard on developing ways to combine cyberattacking capabilities with kinetic weapons.
However, Beijing would face a significant challenge as it tries to bring generational change to its military, they added.
China has mainly done tightly controlled regional operations and some counterpiracy missions, but it would be more difficult to create a joint force capable of conducting large, complex combat operations far abroad, the official said.
Ministry of National Defense Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said that Taiwan watches the development of Chinese military capabilities more closely than any other nation.
“However warfare could play out, that is how we train,” Chen said on the sidelines of a simulated drill at the Hsinchu Air Base to reinforce the military’s defense capabilities ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS