Report: China military build-up aims to project power beyond Taiwan operation

WASHINGTON -- China is building up its military for the long-term goal of projecting its power well beyond Taiwan, the self-governing island that draws most of the mainland's attention today, a Pentagon report says.\nThe Chinese military is buying new weapon systems while developing new doctrine for modern warfare and improving training standards, the report released Tuesday says.\nThe Pentagon rates China's current ability to project power beyond its periphery as "limited." And, it says, China cannot yet be certain that its military, while steadily strengthening, is capable of conquering Taiwan.\n"Current trends in China's military modernization could provide China with a force capable of prosecuting a range of military operations in Asia -- well beyond Taiwan -- potentially posing a credible threat to modern militaries operating in the region," the report stated. "Some of China's military planners are surveying the strategic landscape beyond Taiwan."\nAt the Pentagon on Wednesday, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, said that although China's military might is growing he sees no reason to think that Beijing is interested in starting a war.\n"You judge military threat in two ways: one, capacity and two, intent. There's lots of countries in the world that have the capacity to wage war," Pace said. "Very few have the intent to do so. Clearly, we have a complex but good relationship with China, so there's absolutely no reason for us to believe there's any intent on their part."\nAmong recent developments that point to greater Chinese interest in projecting power beyond the Taiwan Straits:\n--Improvements in Chinese intercontinental-range missiles "capable of striking targets across the globe, including the United States."\n--Some air and naval force improvements, both planned and realized, are geared for future operations beyond the geography around Taiwan. These include airborne early warning and aerial refueling programs for the Chinese air force that will enable its fighter aircraft to operate in the South China Sea, for example.\n--All of China's short-range ballistic missiles, while deployed opposite Taiwan now, are mobile and can operate throughout the country to "take up firing positions in support of a variety of regional contingencies."\nThe short-term focus of China's military is preparing for potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait, said the report, an annual survey mandated by Congress.\nChina claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to invade if the self-governing island declares formal independence or resists Beijing's insistence on negotiating a reunification. The United States, which is Taiwan's main arms supplier, has cautioned both countries not to force a change in the status quo.\nKurt Campbell, who was a senior Asia specialist at the Pentagon during the Clinton administration, said in an interview that the report is "slightly more alarmist" than previous Pentagon assessments of China's military. He noted that the report focuses on a number of new Chinese capabilities, including a naval buildup.\nThe assessment said there are reasons to believe that China would not take military action against Taiwan.\n"It does not yet possess the military capability to accomplish with confidence its political objectives on the island, particularly when confronted with outside intervention," it said. Chinese leaders also believe that attacking Taiwan would severely retard China's economic development and lead to instability on the mainland.\nDefense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday prior to the release of the report that it illustrates why a European arms embargo against the Chinese should be kept in place.\nSome members of the European Union, including France, have sought an end to the embargo, which was imposed after the Chinese military crushed student protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.\nThe House, while debating a State Department bill on Tuesday, accepted without dissent an amendment approving sanctions to deter foreign companies and nations, particularly in Europe, from selling arms to China.\nThe House defeated a similar bill last week, but changes were made to reassure American defense contractors that they would not be subject to penalties unless they knowingly transfer technologies that could potentially have military applications.