Pentagon: China Building Military Might

A Chinese worker is dwarfed by the steel products at a steel market in Shenyang, northeastern China's Liaoning province Friday May 25, 2007. China is both the world's largest consumer and producer of steel. Crude steel output rose by 19.5 percent to 423 million tons last year _ about 35 percent of total production worldwide _ and is forecast to climb at a similar rate to 460 million tons this year. (AP Photo) (AP)

WASHINGTON -- China is modernizing its military in ways that give it options for launching surprise attacks, potentially far from its borders, the Pentagon said Friday.

In an annual report to Congress, the Pentagon said the Chinese are acquiring better missiles, submarines and aircraft and should more fully explain the purpose of a military buildup that has led some to view China as a threat.

In a measured tone, the report offered a detailed look at China's military modernization. And it outlined areas of perceived ambiguity in Chinese strategy, including its declared policy of never starting a nuclear war; it concluded that Beijing may be exploring "new options" provided by its force modernization.

The Chinese Embassy did not immediately return messages Friday seeking comment. China has reacted angrily to previous Pentagon reports and has insisted that its multibillion-dollar military buildup is defensive.

Peter Rodman, who until this year was the Pentagon's top Asia policy official, said in an interview that senior Chinese officials have repeatedly assured U.S. defense officials that their "no first use" policy on nuclear weapons remains intact. Rodman, now a foreign studies fellow at the Brookings Institution, said one reason for doubt is the existence of a debate in military circles over the future of China's nuclear doctrine.

The Pentagon said China's short-term focus remains the Taiwan Straits, where it continues to position more short-range ballistic missiles. But more broadly, the People's Liberation Army is pursuing a strategy that appears designed to give China a capability to fight wars farther from its shores and to thwart any U.S. advances.

It asserted, for example, that last year the new DF-31 long-range nuclear missile became available for use in a military emergency, even though it apparently is not fully integrated into China's strategic nuclear force. It said the DF-31, which has enough range to reach Alaska but is not the main Chinese missile targeting the United States, is likely to become fully operational in the near future, if it has not already.

"The expanding military capabilities of China's armed forces are a major factor in changing East Asian military balances," the report said. "Improvements in China's strategic capabilities have ramifications far beyond the Asia Pacific region."

A prominent theme in the Pentagon report is a perceived lack of transparency in Chinese military activities and plans. As it has in the past, the Pentagon said China's true defense spending is two or three times the publicly announced defense budget, which this year was put at the equivalent of $45 billion. The Pentagon report said actual defense spending, including funds from sources other than the defense budget, is $85 billion to $125 billion.

In a section titled "Is China Developing a Preemptive Strategy?" the report cited the fact that the People's Liberation Army has been acquiring long-endurance submarines, unmanned combat aircraft, additional precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, and long-distance military communications systems.

Chinese military training that focuses on no-notice, long-range air strikes "could also indicate planning for preemptive military options in advance of regional crises," the report said.

Under China's stated policy of "active defense," it engages in war only to defend itself, although the report notes that the history of modern Chinese warfare includes cases, such as its intervention in the Korean War in 1950, in which Chinese leaders have claimed military preemption as an act of strategic defense.