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House Speaker Mike Johnson has rejected efforts to include controls on US investment in Chinese technology in a must-pass defense bill. This decision is a setback for bipartisan efforts to require firms to notify the government about certain investments in China and other countries of concern. The issue has caused a divide among Republican leaders, with some opposing the language. Instead, Johnson has tasked several chairmen with resolving their differences on the matter by early next year. The compromise defense authorization bill, known as the NDAA, is set to be released soon. [Extracted from the article]

The US has recorded some 300 incidents since September 2021 that it characterized as unprofessional and potentially dangerous encounters by People's Liberation Arm aircraft, said Ely Ratner, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs. (Bloomberg) -- Chinese aircraft have sharply increased what the US says is "coercive and risky" behavior in the South China Sea in the last two years, US officials said, calling it a campaign to deny the US and its allies their right to fly in international airspace. US Says China Has Stepped Up "Risky" Behavior in South China Sea. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese aircraft have sharply increased what the US says is "coercive and risky" behavior in the South China Sea in the last two years, US officials said, calling it a campaign to deny the US and its allies their right to fly in international airspace. The US has recorded some 300 incidents since September 2021 that it characterized as unprofessional and potentially dangerous encounters by People's Liberation Arm aircraft, said Ely Ratner, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs. US Says China Has Stepped Up "Risky" Behavior in South China Sea. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon is tracking what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon over sensitive nuclear sites in the western US, an incident that injected new strain into relations before a planned Beijing visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The administration disclosed the balloon's existence just days before Blinken's expected China trip, the first such-high-level visit to Beijing since before the coronavirus pandemic. [Extracted from the article]

The official declined to say why the US believed the balloon belonged to China, saying only that US had high confidence in the assessment. "The US has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now", Brigadier General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. [Extracted from the article]

The administration disclosed the balloon's existence just days before Blinken's expected China trip, the first such-high-level visit to Beijing since before the coronavirus pandemic. (Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon is tracking what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon over sensitive nuclear sites in the western US, an incident that injected new strain into relations before a planned Beijing visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. [Extracted from the article]

"The US has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now", Brigadier General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. The official declined to say why the US believed the balloon belonged to China, saying only that US had high confidence in the assessment. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration labeled China as the nation's top competitor, while Russia remains a danger to be constrained in a new defense strategy that also calls inflation a threat to global security. Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security adviser, said Wednesday that the US is in "the early years of a decisive decade" in which "the terms of our competition with the People's Republic of China will be set.". [Extracted from the article]

Both China and Russia have the capability to "unilaterally escalate a conflict to any level of violence, in any domain, worldwide, with any instrument of national power, and at any time", Richard said. Beijing has also boosted construction of nuclear missile fields in western China, each with about 120 missile silos, allowing the country to have "robust" ballistic missiles that would be capable of reaching the continental U.S., Richard said. U.S. Sees Rising Risk in "Breathtaking" China Nuclear Expansion. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- General Mark Milley, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said two calls he made to his Chinese counterparts in the final weeks of the Trump administration were a normal part of his job and were coordinated with the acting secretary of defense and other top officials. "I know, I am certain, President Trump did not intend on attacking the Chinese, and it is my directed responsibility to convey presidential orders and intent", Milley told the Senate Armed Service Committee on Tuesday, referring to a call he made on Oct. 30. [Extracted from the article]

"I know, I am certain, President Trump did not intend on attacking the Chinese, and it is my directed responsibility to convey presidential orders and intent", Milley told the Senate Armed Service Committee on Tuesday, referring to a call he made on Oct. 30. (Bloomberg) -- General Mark Milley, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said two calls he made to his Chinese counterparts in the final weeks of the Trump administration were a normal part of his job and were coordinated with the acting secretary of defense and other top officials. [Extracted from the article]

Trump Vetoes Key Defense Bill, Calling It "Gift" to China (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed the $740.5 billion U.S. defense policy bill after Congress refused to include language that would abolish liability protections for technology companies, including Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. "Unfortunately, the Act fails to include critical national security measures, includes provisions that fail to respect our veterans and our military's history, and contradicts efforts by my Administration to put America first in our national security and foreign policy actions", Trump said in a statement. The Republican-controlled Senate on Dec. 11 by a wide margin passed the measure, which provides for, among many other things, military pay raises and extra pay for troops assigned to dangerous missions. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the observation of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Leon E. Panetta that China is building the capability to fight and win short-duration, high-intensity conflicts along its borders. He mentions that the country prepares for potential contingencies involving Taiwan, including possible U.S. military intervention. He also notes that the country plans to modernize its military emphasize anti-access and area capabilities.