CHINA
Source: The 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. January 29, 2019
South China Sea and Military Capabilities
We assess that China will continue increasing its maritime presence in the South China Sea and building military and dual-use infrastructure in the Spratly Islands to improve its ability to control access, project power, and undermine U.S. influence in the area.
A body of open-source reporting shows that China seeks to achieve effective control over its claimed waters with a whole-of-government strategy, compel Southeast Asian claimants to acquiesce in China’s claims — at least tacitly — and bolster Beijing’s narrative in the region that the United States is in decline and China’s preeminence is inevitable.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to develop and field advanced weapons and hardware while honing its ability to fight in all military domains. The force is undergoing its most comprehensive restructuring ever to realize China’s long-held goal of being able to conduct modern, rapid military operations based on high technology to assert and defend China’s regional and growing global interests.
PLA reforms seek to reinforce the Chinese Communist Party’s control of the military, improve the PLA’s ability to perform joint operations, increase combat effectiveness, and curb corruption.
As China’s global footprint and international interests have grown, its military modernization program has become more focused on investments and infrastructure to support a range of missions beyond China’s periphery, including a growing emphasis on the maritime domains, offensive air operations, and long-distance mobility operations.