DIA Report Looks at China’s Military Strategy, Capabilities

A Defense Intelligence Agency report says Chinese leaders implement a strategy to build up regional and global power and influence, the Pentagon reported Tuesday.

“As we look at China, we see a country whose leaders describe it as moving closer to center stage in the world, while they strive to achieve what they call the ‘great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,’” said Dan Taylor, a senior defense intelligence analyst at DIA.

“This ambition permeates China’s national security strategy and guides the development of the People’s Liberation Army.”

According to the 125-page report, the East Asian country’s evolving strategic threat perceptions have shaped PLA’s military doctrine and direction and PLA saw its budget rise by an average of 10 percent annually between 2000 and 2016.

The document cited how Chinese military leaders influence foreign and defense policy and how the country uses the “active defense” concept to characterize its military strategy.

DLA said China’s military objective is to establish a combat-effective force that could use integrated command-and-control networks and win regional conflicts.

The “China Military Power — Modernizing a Force to Fight and Win” report also assesses the country’s core military capabilities across various areas such as power projection and expeditionary operations; nuclear weapons and forces; biological and chemical warfare; space and counterspace; cyber space; and denial and deception.