Foreign Relations & International Law

Defense Department Issues Annual Report on Military and Security Developments in China

Emily Dai
Wednesday, November 3, 2021, 5:10 PM

The new report details China’s nuclear advances and growing international influence.

Published by The Lawfare Institute
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On Nov. 3, the Department of Defense released its annual report to Congress on military and security developments involving China. The report provides a baseline assessment of the department’s top pacing challenge and charts the maturation of the People’s Liberation Army and China’s evolving national power.

The report concludes that China’s national strategy aims to “[m]atch or surpass U.S. global influence and power” and “[r]evise the international order to be more advantageous to Beijing’s authoritarian system and national interests.” Notably, China’s nuclear arsenal is estimated to at least double within the decade, significantly outpacing the size the department projected in 2020. The report also highlighted the rapid growth of China's ballistic missiles capabilities and its aggressive coercive actions against Taiwan and rival claimants in territorial disputes. 

You can read the report here and below:


Emily Dai is a junior at New York University studying Politics and Economics. She is an intern at Lawfare.

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