The Pentagon’s China Military Power Report

Dec. 27—The Pentagon released its annual China Military Power Report, asserting that China’s military buildup is aimed at displacing the United States as the world’s leading power. The report says the Chinese military, the PLA, explicitly measures itself against the U.S. as a “strong enemy” and pursues a whole-of-nation mobilization strategy Beijing calls “national total war,” as quoted by US Naval Institute News.

The report claims that China’s expanding “nuclear, maritime, long-range strike, cyber, and space capabilities” increasingly threaten the U.S. homeland. It highlights cyberespionage campaigns such as Volt Typhoon as evidence that China could disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and military operations in a conflict.

The report also assesses that the PLA is progressing toward 2027 goals that include the ability to achieve a “strategic decisive victory” over Taiwan, creating a “strategic counterbalance” to the United States, and exerting regional deterrence. “In other words,” says the Pentagon report, “China expects to be able to fight and win a war on Taiwan by the end of 2027.” Sober military analysts realize that China could already fight and win a war for Taiwan.

China’s official response has focused on rejecting the language in the report about Taiwan. A Ministry of National Defense spokesperson said media speculation fuels “war anxiety” and undermines cross-strait stability, reported the Global Times. Colonel Zhang Xiaogang reiterated that Taiwan is an internal Chinese matter, and warned against “Taiwan independence” separatism, and said the PLA remains ready to act militarily if red lines are crossed: “We are ready to make the greatest sincerity and exert our utmost efforts to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all necessary measures.”