The following is the Feb. 8 2023, Congressional Research Service report, U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas: Background and Issues for Congress.
From the report
In a context of great power competition, the South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as an arena of U.S.-China strategic competition. China’s actions in the SCS—including extensive island-building and base-construction activities at sites that it occupies in the Spratly Islands, as well as actions by its maritime...
The following is the Jan. 23, 2023, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Chinese Nuclear and Missile Proliferation.
From the report
The U.S. government has continued to express concerns about China’s record concerning the proliferation of nuclear- and missile-related technologies to other countries, with more recent focus on the threat of Chinese acquisition of U.S.-origin nuclear technology. (See CRS In Focus IF11050, New U.S. Policy Regarding Nuclear Exports to China, by Paul K. Kerr...
https://news.usni.org/2023/01/24/report-to-congress-on-chinese-nuclear-and-missile-proliferation
Chinese amphibious landing craft on Nov. 25, 2022. PLA Navy Photo
The danger to Taiwan from China is “something we need to take very seriously” as the island is taking steps to mobilize its entire society to deter a mainland takeover, the commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence said last week.
The Taiwanese are asking themselves “what can we do to make China think twice” before it would attempt a cross-straits invasion, Rear Adm. Michael Studeman said last week. He said Beijing has...
https://news.usni.org/2023/01/16/china-undergoing-build-up-in-every-warfare-area-says-oni-commander
The following is the Dec. 21, 2022, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, China Primer: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
From the report
Overview
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is the military arm of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’ or China’s) ruling Communist Party. Since 2018, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has referred to China as the “pacing” threat or challenge for the U.S. military. DOD reported in November 2022 that China’s leaders aim to use the PLA, in part,...
https://news.usni.org/2022/12/22/report-to-congress-on-the-peoples-liberation-army
The following is the Office of Naval Intelligence’s 2022 People’s Liberation Army Navy, China Coast Guard and maritime law enforcement recognition and identification guide.
Download the document here.
People’s Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier Shandong berths at a naval port in Sanya, China. PLAN Photo
China is building more modern surface combatants and expanding its aircraft carrier and logistics force to grow its naval influence further from shore, according to the Pentagon’s annual report on Chinese military power.
By 2025, the People’s Liberation Army Navy is expected to grow to 400 hulls, up from its fleet of 340, according to the Pentagon’s annual China military report estimates...
H I Sutton Illustration for USNI News Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies Used with Permission
The Chinese military held a major exercise to prove how the People’s Liberation Army Navy could use large civilian ferries to launch a massive amphibious invasion of Taiwan.
The PLAN brought amphibious landing craft to a Chinese beach near the Taiwan Strait, according to Aug. 31 satellite imagery reviewed by USNI News. Offshore, the PLAN arrayed several large civilian ferries and warships. The PLA...
Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning underway. PLAN Photo
China has the biggest maritime force on the globe with an inventory of about 355 vessels, according to a Defense Department report released Wednesday.
With 355 ships in its fleet, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is slated to expand its inventory to 420 ships within the next four years, the Pentagon’s annual China military report estimates. By 2030, the PLAN is expected to have 460 ships.
The 355 estimation accounts for “major surface...
The launch of the Type 75 big-deck amphib in Shanghai on. PLAN Photo
The United States has “real reasons for concern” over China’s expanding size and range of its military capabilities close to Japan that also pose threats to Guam and Hawaii, as well as Australia, the deputy secretary of defense said Friday.
Kathleen Hicks said President Xi Jinping’s rhetoric is making “clear their intentions” to be a global military power.
Speaking in a Center for Strategic and International Studies online...
https://news.usni.org/2021/10/04/hicks-chinese-military-expansion-poses-threats-to-guam-hawaii
A Chinese amphibious armored vehicle loaded aboard the car ferry Bang Chui Dao in 2020. CCTV image via The James Town FoundationChinese Navy Converting Commercial Car Ferries to Launching Amphibious Landing Craft
When a Chinese ferry joined the People’s Liberation Army Navy for an amphibious landing exercise in July 2020, observers noticed something different.
It’s not unusual for Chinese merchant vessels to participate in the PLA’s operations and Bang Chui Dao, a 15,560-ton roll-on roll-off...