China poses biggest military threat to US – intel report

This screengrab taken from handout video footage released by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command on October 14, 2024 shows a Chinese serviceman using binoculars on a Chinese vessel during the “Joint Sword-2024B” military drills conducted by China around Taiwan. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON — China is the top threat to American interests globally, according to a US intelligence report released Tuesday, which said Beijing was making progress in its military and cyber capabilities.

Beijing’s “coercive pressure” against Taiwan and “wide-ranging cyber operations against US targets” were indicators of its growing threat to US national security, said the Annual Threat Assessment by the intelligence community.

The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations.

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“China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat to US national security,” the report said.

However it said China was more “cautious” than Russia, Iran and North Korea about appearing “too aggressive and disruptive.”

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a Senate hearing Tuesday that “China is our most capable strategic competitor” based on current intelligence.

“China’s military is fielding advanced capabilities including hypersonic weapons, stealth aircraft, advanced submarines, stronger space and cyber warfare assets and a larger arsenal of nuclear weapons,” Gabbard said.

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The report said Beijing would keep expanding its “coercive and subversive malign influence activities” to weaken the US internally and globally.

The Chinese government would seek to counter what it sees as a “US-led campaign to tarnish Beijing’s global relations and overthrow” the Chinese Communist Party.

In addition to China, the assessment analyzed threats to the United States posed by Russia, North Korea, Iran and “non-state transnational criminals,” including Mexican drug cartels and Islamic extremist groups.