Pentagon report: Chinese military buildup and shift in nuclear force doctrine threatens US homeland

“China maintains a large and growing arsenal of nuclear, maritime, conventional long-range strike, cyber and space capabilities able to directly threaten Americans’ security,” according to the report.

Published: December 25, 2025 10:42pm

China military buildup is making “the U.S. homeland increasingly vulnerable,” according to the Pentagon’s annual China military power report. 

This is the result of a combination of their decades-long arms buildup and a shift in nuclear force doctrine. “China maintains a large and growing arsenal of nuclear, maritime, conventional long-range strike, cyber and space capabilities able to directly threaten Americans’ security,” according to the report.

The report was made public Tuesday, and it warns that the People’s Liberation Army continues on pace toward its 2027 modernization goals, according to China expert Bill Gertz reporting for The Washington Times

Those goals include “preparations for using force to annex Taiwan and threatening nuclear strikes on the United States to prevent American forces from intervening in a defense of the self-ruled island,” according to Gertz. 

The report states that the Trump administration’s relations with China are “stronger” than in many years, and that the U.S. does not seek to “strangle, dominate, or humiliate China.”

Striking a conciliatory tone, the report says that while the U.S. military is ready to defend American interests in the Indo-Pacific, “we seek only to deny the ability of any country in the Indo-Pacific to dominate us or our allies.”

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