Quote:Pentagon’s 2023 Report on China’s Military and Security Developments (October 19, 2023)

From the report

The 2022 National Security Strategy states that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the only competitor to the United States with the intent and, increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order. As a result, the 2022 National Defense Strategy identifies the PRC as the “pacing challenge” for the Department of Defense. As the PRC seeks to achieve “national rejuvenation” by its centenary in 2049, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders view a modern, capable, and “world class” military as essential to overcoming what Beijing sees as an increasingly turbulent international environment.

The DoD annual report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China charts the current course of the PRC’s national, economic, and military strategy, and offers insight on the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) strategy, current capabilities and activities, as well as its future modernization goals.

In 2022, the PRC turned to the PLA as an increasingly capable instrument of statecraft. Throughout the year, the PLA adopted more coercive actions in the Indo-Pacific region, while accelerating its development of capabilities and concepts to strengthen the PRC’s ability to “fight and win wars” against a “strong enemy,” counter an intervention by a third party in a conflict along the PRC’s periphery, and to project power globally. At the same time, the PRC largely denied, cancelled, and ignored recurring bilateral defense engagements, as well as DoD requests for military-to-military communication at multiple levels.


This report illustrates the importance of meeting the pacing challenge presented by the PRC’s increasingly capable military.

Report Scope: This report covers security and military developments involving the PRC until the end of 2022.

Quote:CHINA’S BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE (BRI)

The PRC uses BRI to support its strategy of national rejuvenation by seeking to expand global transportation and trade linkages to support its development and deepen its economic integration with nations along its periphery and beyond.

In 2022, BRI projects saw mixed economic outcomes, experiencing both growth and decline. However, overall spending on BRI projects remained consistent with the previous year and Beijing continued to prioritize public health, digital infrastructure, and green energy opportunities.

Overseas development and security interests under BRI will drive the PRC towards expanding its overseas security relationships and presence to protect those interests.

Quote:People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The PRC has numerically the largest navy in the world with an overall battle force of over 370 ships and submarines, including more than 140 major surface combatants. The PLAN is largely composed of modern multi-mission ships and submarines. In 2022, the PLAN launched its third aircraft carrier, CV-18 Fujian.

• It also commissioned its third YUSHEN class Amphibious Assault Ships (LHA) and has likely begun construction on a fourth as of early 2023. In the near-term, the PLAN will have the ability to conduct long-range precision strikes against land targets from its submarine and surface combatants using land-attack cruise missiles, notably enhancing the PRC’s power projection capability.
  

• The PRC continues to challenge foreign military activities in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in a manner that is inconsistent with the rules of customary international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. At the same time, the PLAN conducts activities in the EEZs of other countries, including the United States, Australia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
  

Quote:SPECIAL TOPIC: PLA SELF-ASSESSMENT

The PLA highlights some self-assessed shortcomings publicly, likely to guide and accelerate force- wide modernization efforts. The PLA routinely use set slogans or phrases to describe these self- assessments to exhort the force to carry out specific campaigns. These evaluations also likely represent genuine anxieties among PRC leaders about the PLA’s readiness and ability to conduct joint operations if tested under real combat conditions. The five PLA slogans are described on the next page.