China’s Military Gains Challenge US Strategic Edge
China’s accelerating military modernization is posing a growing threat to U.S. national security, according to a new assessment by the Department of Defense, as reported in the Military Times article titled “China’s military buildup makes US ‘increasingly vulnerable,’ DoD says.” The report warns of the expanding reach and sophistication of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which the Pentagon argues is altering the strategic balance in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
The Defense Department’s annual report to Congress paints a stark picture of Beijing’s strides in military capability, particularly in missile technology, naval expansion, cyber warfare, and space operations. The PLA now fields the world’s largest navy by number of ships and continues testing advanced hypersonic weapons, raising serious concerns among U.S. defense planners about the diminishing window of response in a crisis scenario.
Senior Pentagon officials highlighted that the scale and pace of China’s investment in its military forces have shifted the strategic calculus that has underpinned decades of U.S. deterrence policy in the region. “We are entering a more dangerous decade where the margin for deterrence could erode, particularly across the Taiwan Strait,” one anonymous official said in the report.
While the United States still maintains global air and naval superiority supported by a network of allies and forward-deployed forces, the DoD expresses concern that China’s focus on asymmetric warfare—including anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities—could increasingly restrict American freedom of movement in contested areas. Notably, the report underscores China’s integration of civilian infrastructure into military logistics planning, a development seen as enhancing its ability to sustain combat operations far from its borders.
The Military Times article also notes that the Pentagon is urging Congress to prioritize investments in long-range fires, cyber defense, and space resilience to offset Chinese advances. Officials stress that failing to adapt to the shifting threat landscape risks undermining deterrence and could embolden more assertive behavior by Beijing in the South China Sea and vis-à-vis Taiwan.
This strategic warning comes amid intensifying U.S.-China geopolitical rivalry, with both economic and military dimensions. While Washington continues to emphasize the importance of diplomatic engagement and crisis communication with China, the Pentagon’s report makes clear that expectations for future stability must be grounded in strategic realism.
As the Department of Defense prepares its posture for 2025 and beyond, defense analysts say bipartisan support in Congress will be essential to maintaining U.S. competitiveness. Integrating emerging technologies while reinforcing traditional military advantages is expected to be a central theme in shaping America’s long-term defense strategy.
