"Overwater Bomber Operations, the PLA has been developing strike capabilities to engage targets as far away from China as possible," the report said on Thursday. "Over the last three years, the PLA has rapidly expanded its overwater bomber operating areas, gaining experience in critical maritime regions and likely training for strikes against US and allied targets."
China’s Navy, the report added, in 2017 launched into service an aircraft carrier and a cruiser, three destroyers, additional surface combatants, support ships, and intelligence-collection ships.
In addition, the report found that computer systems owned by the US government continued to be targeted by China-based intrusions through 2017.
The United States’ 2017 National Defense Strategy, the 2018 National Defense Strategy, and the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review acknowledge China’s military competition in a dynamic security environment, the report said. The US seeks to set the military relationship between both countries on a path of transparency and non-aggression, according to the report.
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