• Burmese
Saturday, July 19, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

Pentagon Sees China as ‘Growing Risk’ to US Defense Industry

Reuters by Reuters
October 5, 2018
in Asia
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
A computer network cable is seen above a Chinese flag in this July 12, 2017, illustration photo. / Reuters

A computer network cable is seen above a Chinese flag in this July 12, 2017, illustration photo. / Reuters

4.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

WASHINGTON — China represents a “significant and growing risk” to the supply of materials vital to the US military, according to a new Pentagon-led report that seeks to mend weaknesses in core US industries vital to national security.

The nearly 150-page report, seen by Reuters on Thursday ahead of its formal release on Friday, concluded there are nearly 300 vulnerabilities that could affect critical materials and components essential to the US military.

Reuters was first to report on the study’s major conclusions on Tuesday.

RelatedPosts

Fraternal Facade: The Illusion of China-Myanmar Brotherhood at 75

Fraternal Facade: The Illusion of China-Myanmar Brotherhood at 75

June 10, 2025
2.3k
Myanmar Junta Promises Voting in 267 Townships

Myanmar Junta Promises Voting in 267 Townships

June 9, 2025
1.4k
Examining the Role of Private Security Firms in Chinese Force Projection

Examining the Role of Private Security Firms in Chinese Force Projection

April 3, 2025
1.7k

The analysis included a series of recommendations to strengthen American industry, including by expanding direct investment in sectors deemed critical. The specific plans were listed in an unreleased, classified annex.

China was given heavy emphasis in the report. It was singled out for dominating the global supply of rare earth minerals critical in US military applications. The report also noted China’s global profile in the supply of certain kinds of electronics as well as chemicals used in US munitions.

“A key finding of this report is that China represents a significant and growing risk to the supply of materials and technologies deemed strategic and critical to US national security,” the report said.

Relations with China are already fraught, with a bitter trade war between the world’s two largest economies adding to tensions over cyber spying, self-ruled Taiwan and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

The report could add to trade tensions with China, bolstering the Trump administration’s “Buy American” initiative, which aims to help drum up billions of dollars more in arms sales for US manufacturers and create more jobs.

Vice President Mike Pence accused China on Thursday of efforts to undermine President Donald Trump ahead of the Nov. 6 congressional elections, saying that Beijing was “meddling in America’s democracy.”

Pence’s comments echoed those of Trump himself in remarks at the United Nations last month, when Trump said that “China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election.” Chinese officials rejected the charge.

The report also examined US shortcomings that contribute to weakness in domestic industry, including roller-coaster US defense budgets that make it difficult for US companies to predict government demand. Another weakness cited was in US science and technology education.

“Although its findings are not likely to move markets, they present an alarming picture of US industrial decay driven by both domestic and foreign factors,” wrote defense consultant Loren Thompson, who has close ties to Boeing Co. and other companies.

A senior US administration official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, cited several new steps to ensure US military’s supplies. These include an effort to build up stockpiled reserves of scarce materials and expand US manufacturing capabilities in things such as lithium sea-water batteries that are critical for anti-submarine warfare.

“There have just been market failures here. And so we can create new incentives to drive investment in areas to help diversify ourselves,” said Eric Chewning, a deputy assistant secretary of defense who oversees industrial base policy.

Chinese dumping

Pentagon officials see national security risks from Beijing’s growing military and economic clout and want to be sure China is not able to hobble America’s military by cutting off supplies of materials or by sabotaging technology it exports.

The report noted that 90 percent of the world’s printed circuit boards are now produced in Asia, with over half of that occurring in China, presenting a risk to US defense.

“With the migration of advanced board manufacturing offshore, [the Department of Defense] risks losing visibility into the manufacturing provenance of its products,” the report said.

The Pentagon has long fretted that “kill switches” could be embedded in transistors that could turn off sensitive US systems in a conflict. The report cited the risk of “‘Trojan’ chips and viruses infiltrating US defense systems.”

US intelligence officials also warned this year about the possibility China could use Chinese-made mobile phones and network equipment to spy on Americans.

The report cited what it said were sometimes unfair and unlawful Chinese efforts to undermine US industry through a host of strategies, including by subsidizing exports at artificially low prices and stealing US technology.

The report identified multiple cases where the sole remaining US producer of critical materials was on the verge of shutting down and importing lower-cost materials “from the same foreign producer county who is forcing them out of domestic production.”

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Security
Reuters

Reuters

...

Similar Picks:

Reports of Forced Conscription by Myanmar’s Military Spark Panic in Yangon
Burma

Reports of Forced Conscription by Myanmar’s Military Spark Panic in Yangon

by Yuzana
November 24, 2023
11k

The former capital is turning into a ghost town after sunset as workers race to the safety of their homes...

Read moreDetails
Junta Passes Law Allowing Chinese Security Firms to Operate in Myanmar
Myanmar-China Watch

Junta Passes Law Allowing Chinese Security Firms to Operate in Myanmar

by Maung Kavi
February 19, 2025
8.5k

The law allows Chinese companies to provide security services for Chinese organizations, projects and businesses, as well as events involving...

Read moreDetails
With Proposed Security Gambit, Beijing Decides ‘Enough Is Enough’ in Myanmar
Analysis

With Proposed Security Gambit, Beijing Decides ‘Enough Is Enough’ in Myanmar

by The Irrawaddy
November 21, 2024
5k

China’s establishment of a joint venture security company with the junta to safeguard BRI projects in Myanmar shows it no...

Read moreDetails
Sleepless in Naypyitaw: Myanmar Junta Leader Lives in Fear of Assassination
Burma

Sleepless in Naypyitaw: Myanmar Junta Leader Lives in Fear of Assassination

by The Irrawaddy
April 30, 2024
4.7k

Mystery surrounds the daily movements of Min Aung Hlaing—and the temporary disappearance of his No. 2—but it is safe to...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Puts Leaders of Old Regime Under Surveillance
Burma

Myanmar Junta Puts Leaders of Old Regime Under Surveillance

by The Irrawaddy
July 25, 2024
3.9k

Ex-dictator Than Shwe and former President Thein Sein are among those being monitored by current junta boss Min Aung Hlaing’s...

Read moreDetails
Eight Takeaways From Myanmar Junta Chief’s Meeting With Putin
Burma

Eight Takeaways From Myanmar Junta Chief’s Meeting With Putin

by The Irrawaddy
March 5, 2025
3.7k

The two sides reached deals to cooperate on nuclear and space technology, among many others, and the junta boss backed...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Ivory is burned during a destruction ceremony of illegal wildlife items in Naypyitaw on Thursday.  / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

Myanmar Torches Illegal Wildlife Stockpile Worth $1.3M to Deter Smugglers

Trials and Tribulations for Myanmar's Travel Industry

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

4 days ago
1.5k
Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

1 week ago
3.5k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

    Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • More Than 20,000 Displaced As Myanmar Junta Burns Homes Around World Heritage Site

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Using Conscripts as Cannon Fodder, Defectors Say

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Top Brass Visit Myanmar After Cross-Border Drone Attack

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.