THE Pentagon’s latest report on China’s military and security developments reflects an incongruous stance and faulty policy.

It is a combination of misinterpretations and misconceptions about China’s military power over the past few years. The report continues to label China as a challenge and adversary by exaggerating its historic military buildup and fueling anxieties about the increasingly vulnerable US homeland. Additionally, it presents a purposeful duality, emphasizing that under President Trump’s leadership, relations between the US and China are stronger than they have been in many years, promising to open a wider range of military-to-military communications with the PLA, providing a window into understanding the complex realities of current US–China relations. Thus, the Pentagon’s new report is another effort at hyping the “Chinese military threat” theory, which has become an annual routine.

It is the first report under Trump’s administration; however, it still maintains previous double standards, intentionally insisting on US military intervention in the Asia-Pacific region and portraying China’s military development as a threat to Americans’ security, which has no empirical evidence. Obviously, China has a peaceful defense capability, which is a legitimate measure to safeguard the security of over 1.4 billion people and every inch of its territorial sovereignty.

Comparative studies and critical analysis confirm that China’s military expenditure has remained below 1.5 percent of its GDP for many years, which is lower than the world average, vividly reflecting its peaceful defense doctrine and negating the........

© Pakistan Observer