Pentagon Says China's Military Power Grows as Intentions Still Unclear

The annual Pentagon report on China's military power says China continues to increase the "pace and scope" of its military modernization, and expresses concern about a lack of clarity on how Chinese leaders intend to use their growing capability. But the report also says China is years from being able to seriously challenge U.S. military power, even in areas fairly close to China's borders.

The annual report, required by the Congress, says China continues to spend large amounts of money to upgrade its forces and give them high-technology capabilities. But the report says it will be well into the 2020 decade before China will have the ability to sustain substantial forces far from home. It says the Chinese army compensates for its limited abilities by investing in what the Pentagon calls "disruptive" technologies, designed to deny an adversary access to a specific area or to attack an enemy's computer networks or space-based assets.

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