Pentagon’s Overdue China Report Said to Be Likely This Week
The Pentagon is likely to release this week its unclassified assessment of China’s military capability, a report that was due by law last March, according to a senior defense official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The annual report also will include an assessment of China’s military balance against Taiwan. The fiscal 2000 defense act mandated the report be submitted each year no later than March 1. Last year’s version wasn’t released until Aug. 16.
“This annual report provides vital information to Congress on China’s intentions and capabilities,” Representation Randy Forbes, a Virginia Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee readiness panel, who noted in an e-mail today that the report was “175 days overdue.”
Forbes, a co-founder of the Congressional China Caucus, wrote Defense Secretary Leon Panetta today complaining about delay in the report’s release.
Last year’s report said China is pursuing a military capability to reach as far as the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, even while it maintains its military buildup opposite Taiwan amid improved economic ties across the strait.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net
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