China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday.
The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations.
In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named.
Photo: CNA
Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat to US national security,” the report said, adding that China was more “cautious” than Russia, Iran and North Korea about appearing “too aggressive and disruptive.”
Beijing’s “coercive pressure” against Taiwan and “wide-ranging cyberoperations against US targets” were indicators of its growing threat to US national security, the report said.
“China’s military is fielding advanced capabilities, including hypersonic weapons, stealthy aircraft, advanced submarines, stronger space and cyberwarfare assets, and a larger arsenal of nuclear weapons,” US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in testimony about the report to the US Senate Intelligence Committee.
While China would like to maintain positive ties with the US, it is also building up its military capabilities, in part “to gain advantage in the event of a military conflict with the United States” over China’s efforts toward unification with Taiwan, Gabbard said.
The report warned that a conflict between China and Taiwan would disrupt US access to trade and semiconductor technology critical to the global economy.
“Even without US involvement in such a conflict, there would likely be significant and costly consequences to US and global economic and security interests,” it said.
China is likely making “steady, but uneven” progress on capabilities it would use to seize Taiwan and deter or defeat US military intervention, it said.
Beijing would continue to pressure Taiwan with “economic coercion” and would probably increase it if it sees Taiwan taking steps toward formal independence, the report said.
Among possible moves by China to boost its coercion tactics were suspending preferential tariff terms, selectively banning Taiwanese imports and arbitrarily enforcing regulations, it said.
Despite its growing capabilities, China also faces “daunting” challenges, including corruption, demographic imbalances, and fiscal and economic struggles, which would impair its leaders’ strategic and political achievements, the report said.
China would keep expanding its “coercive and subversive malign influence activities” to weaken the US internally and globally, it said.
The Chinese government would seek to counter what it sees as a “US-led campaign to tarnish Beijing’s global relations and overthrow” the Chinese Communist Party, it added.
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