Long-range bomber training missions \u201ctargeting the US\u201d<\/em> \u2013 this is how the US mainstream media reported<\/a> the findings of the Pentagon\u2019s annual assessment of Chinese military capabilities in 2017, published Thursday.<\/p>\n What the 145-page report<\/a> actually says is that the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) air force has \u201crapidly expanded its overwater bomber operating areas, gaining experience in critical maritime regions and likely training for strikes against US and allied targets.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n From that passage, it is clear that the Pentagon is concerned about Chinese capabilities against forward US bases in places like South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and maybe even Guam \u2013 not the continental US, which China can already reach with nuclear missiles anyway.<\/p>\n The US military seems particularly alarmed by the prospect of China developing long-range bombers. A \u201cstealthy, long-range strategic bomber with a nuclear delivery capability\u201d<\/em> could be operation \u201cwithin the next 10 years,\u201d<\/em> the report says, completing the so-called \u201cnuclear triad\u201d<\/em> of delivery systems.<\/p>\n It must be purely a coincidence that this assessment comes as the US is working on developing a next-generation long-range bomber<\/a>, and has invested heavily in the F-35 fighter program, estimated to cost over $1.5 trillion over its lifetime.<\/p>\n Read more<\/p>\n The report also contains claims that China is developing weapons to target US satellites in orbit, including \u201ckinetic-kill missiles, ground-based lasers, and orbiting space robots.\u201d<\/em> This is in no way likely to be used to drum up support for President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cSpace Force\u201d<\/em> plans, of course.<\/p>\n The annual report on Chinese capabilities is mandated by US law. It is also the first such report since the adoption of a new national defense strategy in January<\/a>, which called \u201cinter-state strategic competition, not terrorism,\u201d<\/em> the primary concern for the US.<\/p>\n A two-page fact sheet<\/a> accompanying the report offers clues as to China\u2019s actual military priorities: the current goal is mechanization, with partial \u201cinformatization\u201d<\/em> being a goal for 2020 and \u201cbasic modernization\u201d<\/em> by 2035. The Chinese leadership aims to have a world-class military \u201cby the middle of this century,\u201d<\/em> the fact sheet says.<\/p>\n In 2017, Beijing actually cut 300,000 personnel from its ground forces and reorganized them on a brigade structure. The PLA Marine Corps is being expanded, going from 2 brigades and 10,000 personnel to a projected 30,000 marines in seven brigades by 2020, according to Pentagon projections. This expanded marine corps would also be able to engage in \u201cexpeditionary operations\u201d<\/em> – the likes of which the US Marines have conducted since going to the Shores of Tripoli in 1801.<\/p>\n Beijing continues to build destroyers and frigates, as well as submarines, for the People\u2019s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). China\u2019s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning<\/em>, conducted its first training deployment in 2017.<\/p>\n The report also brings up the expansion of People\u2019s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM), based around a fleet of state-owned fishing vessels operated in coastal areas. Clearly, the Pentagon is facing a \u201cfishing boat gap\u201d<\/em> that needs to be addressed forthwith.<\/p>\n MY TAKE: #China<\/a>\u2019s #MaritimeMilitia<\/a> is known clearly to the US gov’t. By documenting these important facts officially & authoritatively, the Pentagon\u2019s 2018 China report has performed a signal service: Revealing the PAFMM & its true nature is important to deterring its future use.<\/p>\n
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