'Not messing around': China's rapid military advances stoke fear, catch Pentagon by surprise
By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Pentagon officials are keenly aware of the dangers posed by China‘s cutting-edge weapons and its rapidly expanding military prowess across a host of domains.
But perhaps of even greater concern are capabilities Beijing has kept partially hidden from the rest of the world, raising questions about whether the U.S. and its allies truly have a grasp on what tools the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has at its disposal.
Top military officials told The Washington Times this month that no nation in history has consistently stayed ahead of U.S. estimates as well as China has done recently. Even the Soviet Union, during the height of the Cold War, did not surprise American intelligence and Pentagon analysts in quite the same way, military officials said, fueling fears that Beijing could catch the U.S. and its allies off guard in a future conflict.
Over just the past several months, major revelations about the extent of China‘s hypersonic weapons capabilities, its nuclear arms stockpile and even the size of its navy have sparked concerns that Washington may not have a full window into exactly what its 21st-century rival has up its sleeve or what may be under development deep inside the communist nation.
https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/nov/11/not-messing-around-chinas-rapid-military-advances-/
