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WASHINGTON-China is developing "disruptive" technologies for nuclear, space and cyber warfare that are shifting the military balance in Asia and possibly beyond, the Defense Department reported Wednesday."China's ability to sustain military power at a distance remains limited," the Pentagon said in its annual report to Congress on Beijing's military power, the first under the administration of President Barack Obama."But its armed forces continue to develop and field disruptive military technologies, including those for anti-access/area-denial, as well as for nuclear, space, and cyber warfare, that are changing regional military balances and that have implications beyond the Asia- Pacific region," it said.The Pentagon released the report in the wake of a standoff between the United States and China earlier this month, in which Washington said Chinese vessels harassed a U.S. Navy surveillance ship in international waters in the South China Sea.The report confirmed that China has built a new naval base at Hainan Island that can serve its expanding fleet of submarines, including those equipped with ballistic missiles."The port, which has underground facilities, would provide the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy with direct access to vital international sea lanes, and offers the potential for stealthy deployment of submarines into the deep waters of the South China Sea," it said.The naval showdown took place near Hainan Island. China accused the United States of spying with the surveillance ship designed to track submarines with underwater sonars.The new Pentagon report said the United States "welcomes the rise of a stable, peaceful and prosperous China, and encourages China to participate responsibly in world affairs.""However, much uncertainty surrounds China's future course, particularly regarding how its expanding military power might be used," it said.The report said China continues to develop weapons that threaten Taiwan, despite the significantly reduced tensions between the two since the election last year of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, who abandoned his predecessor's pro-independence stance."The PLA's modernization vis-a-vis Taiwan has continued over the past year, including its build-up of short-range missiles opposite the island," it said."In the near-term, China's armed forces are rapidly developing coercive capabilities for the purpose of deterring Taiwan's pursuit of de jure independence," the report said. "These same capabilities could in the future be used to pressure Taiwan toward a settlement of the cross-Strait dispute on Beijing's terms while simultaneously attempting to deter, delay, or deny any possible U.S. support for the island in case of conflict," it said.China and Taiwan have undergone a rapprochement in the past year, including the lifting of a 60-year-old ban on direct air and sea as well as postal links.The report said Beijing's lack of transparency in detailing its military spending and security policy "poses risks to stability by creating uncertainty and increasing the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation."China "has left unclear to the international community the purposes and objectives of the PLA's evolving doctrine and capabilities," it said."Moreover, China continues to promulgate incomplete defense expenditure figures and engage in actions that appear inconsistent with its declaratory policies."A senior U.S. defense official said Beijing could boost transparency and mitigate the concerns of other countries about its military capabilities through military-to-military dialogue with Washington, and by publishing better defense papers and other documents.The report said China had sold nearly $7 billion worth of conventional weapons on the world market, with Pakistan being the main customer.As in the days of Noah...
