The PLAN: "great concern" but "a long way to go"
Friday, September 3, 2010 at 12:03AM
Thomas P.M. Barnett in China, Citation Post, US Military

WSJ story on the annual Pentagon report to Congress over China's build-up.  Because of the general deterioration of mil-mil ties after the $6.4B arms sale to Taiwan, the report will have little impact overall, except to justify growing enthusiasm inside the Building for the whole AirSea Battle concept (the Air Force and Navy searching for relevancy in a Long War world).

The usual references to China's aggressive cyber-snooping, which is annoying but results in no significant shift in the correlation of forces.

As for the new antiship missile, a senior defense official says it is of "great concern," but adds, "they still have a long way to go."

A non-hyperbolic assessment.

Article originally appeared on Thomas P.M. Barnett (https://thomaspmbarnett.com/).
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