The Pentagon’s 2025 Annual Report on Military and Security Developments involving the People’s Republic of China, released December 23 and submitted to Congress the following day, states that Beijing has deliberately sought to capitalize on the reduced tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) following the October 2024 disengagement agreement with India.
The report concludes that China “probably seeks to capitalize on decreased tension along the LAC to stabilize bilateral relations and prevent the deepening of U.S.-India ties,” even as India “probably remains sceptical of China’s actions and motives” due to persistent mutual distrust and unresolved irritants.
China swiftly rejected the assessment, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian denouncing it on December 25 as an attempt to “sow discord between China and other countries” and serve as a pretext for the United States to maintain military supremacy.
In a section on China’s Foreign Policy, the report briefly discusses developments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the disputed Indo-China border that had been the scene of a military standoff since May 2020, until the two sides announced disengagement from the remaining standoff sites along the LAC in October 2024.
The report highlights that the two countries announced the disengagement two days before a meeting between President Xi and Indian Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
Further, it states that the Xi-Modi meeting signalled the beginning of monthly high-level meetings between the two states, during which the parties diligently discussed border management and the next twelve stages for the bilateral relationship, such as direct flights, facilitating visas, and exchanging journalists and academics.
While these observations are largely correct and have been widely reported, the Pentagon report goes ahead to say that China could be leveraging the improvement in ties to prevent the strengthening of ties between India and the US.
“China probably seeks to capitalise on decreased tension along the LAC to stabilise bilateral relations and prevent the deepening of U.S.-India ties; however, India probably remains sceptical of China’s actions and motives. Continued mutual distrust and other irritants almost certainly limit the bilateral relationship,” the report stated.
The report also highlights the growing collaboration between China and Pakistan, India’s primary adversary, which fought an intense four-day war with India in May 2025. In fact, highlighting the growing cooperation between the two countries, the report alleges that China is “likely considering” establishing future overseas military logistics facilities or bases in Pakistan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian denounced the claims at a media briefing, saying, ”The Pentagon’s report distorts China’s defence policy, sows discord between China and other countries, and aims at finding a pretext for the US to maintain its military supremacy.”
Lin further reassured that Beijing views the relationship with New Delhi from a long-term and strategic perspective. “We stand ready to strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, promote cooperation, and properly handle differences with India, and advance a sound and stable bilateral relationship,” the spokesperson told reporters.
When specifically asked about the situation at the disputed LAC border that erupted in 2020 following a military standoff, Lin said the border was stable and that communication between the two sides was smooth.
China views India ties from 'strategic and long-term perspective'- 🇨🇳 Foreign Ministry
Beijing has rejected a Pentagon report on India–China border tensions, calling it “groundless and irresponsible.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the border issue is a bilateral… pic.twitter.com/rWHyWS4i2k
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) December 25, 2025
Separately, the report was also rebuked by the Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang, who said the US publishes such reports year after year, grossly interfering in China’s internal affairs.
“The US report maliciously misinterpreted China’s national defence policy, made unfounded speculations about China’s military development, slandering and smearing the normal actions of the Chinese military,” Zhang said, refusing to address a question about the report’s allegations of China’s growing defence collaboration with Pakistan. “The report is full of erroneous understandings of China and geopolitical biases, exaggerating the so-called’ Chinese military threat ‘to mislead the international community,” he added.
The Pentagon report also makes another explosive claim: It states China considers India’s Northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh a “core interest,” along with Taiwan and other contested islands in the South China Sea, such as the Senkaku Islands, as recently explained in depth by the EurAsian Times.
“China claims three ‘core interests,’ defined as issues so central to China’s national rejuvenation that their official position is not subject to negotiation or compromise,” the Pentagon report states.
China Lambasts US Claims On “Nuclear Silos”
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that China is likely to have loaded more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) across three silo fields and has no appetite for arms control negotiations. The report was purportedly based on the draft Pentagon report.
US President Donald Trump hinted last month that he might be developing a denuclearisation strategy with China and Russia. However, Beijing did not seem interested, according to the draft Pentagon assessment that Reuters obtained.
“We continue to see no appetite from Beijing for pursuing such measures or more comprehensive arms control discussions,” the report said.
The Reuters report stated that the Pentagon report specifically stated that China has probably installed around 100 solid-fuelled DF-31 ICBMs in silo fields near China’s border with Mongolia, the most recent of a number of silo locations. The existence of the fields, but not the number of missiles loaded, has previously been disclosed by the Pentagon.
Responding to these claims, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that the US exaggerates the so-called “China nuclear threat,” which is nothing more than an effort to deflect international attention and find justifications for hastening the expansion of its own nuclear forces, rather than considering its own actions.
Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the MND, pointed out that the United States has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, maintains a nuclear deterrent strategy that permits the first use of nuclear weapons, and has long spent enormous sums of money developing its “triad” nuclear capabilities. Additionally, he highlighted how the US has been talking about restarting nuclear testing to back his argument.
In contrast, Zhang said, China has persistently kept its nuclear forces at the minimal level necessary for national security, resolutely adopted a self-defensive nuclear strategy, and scrupulously adhered to the policy of no first use of nuclear weapons.
The spokesperson said, “We will never engage in a nuclear arms race with any country,” while calling on the United States to sincerely fulfil its primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament, further reduce its nuclear arsenal in a significant and drastic way, and cease actions that jeopardise international strategic stability.
India’s Complicated Ties With US & China
The narratives from both the US and China on their relations with India carry significant nuances, often shaped by strategic interests, public posturing, and unresolved tensions.
India and China have taken tangible steps to ease tensions and boost bilateral relations, including resuming tourist visas for Chinese nationals and launching the first direct passenger flight in five years from Kolkata to Guangzhou.
At the SCO summit in Tianjin, Xi Jinping told Modi that China and India should act as partners, not rivals, emphasizing development cooperation amid global trade uncertainties.
Interestingly, this warming occurs against a backdrop of friction with the US, driven by the Trump administration’s aggressive trade policies. Steep tariffs (escalating to 50% on many Indian goods by mid-2025) were imposed partly to pressure New Delhi into halting discounted Russian oil purchases, which Washington viewed as indirectly supporting Russia’s war efforts.
Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for ending the brief India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025 (following a terror attack and Operation Sindoor), asserting he averted a potential nuclear war through trade leverage and diplomacy.
Pakistan acknowledged Trump’s role and even nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, but India firmly rejected any third-party mediation, insisting the May 10 ceasefire resulted solely from direct DGMO-level talks.
Adding to the strain, Trump hosted Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir for a White House lunch in June 2025, weeks after the ceasefire, and later announced a trade deal with Pakistan.
These moves likely caused discomfort in New Delhi. India, on its part, acted quickly to balance ties and reduced its oil imports from Russia by 38% in October 2025, according to recent reports. Moreover, in the same month, India and the US signed a framework agreement to expand defence cooperation over the next 10 years.
The ties between India and China are also more complicated than they might appear, primarily because the border dispute between the two countries remains unresolved.
In January 2025, reports suggested that China had continued to bolster its military posture along the LAC since the withdrawal of soldiers at Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh in October 2024. It warned that the PLA was aggressively developing infrastructure in several areas along the border, from eastern Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
In October 2025, satellite imagery revealed the expansion of air defence infrastructure—a new Chinese air-defence complex comprising command and control buildings, barracks, vehicle sheds, munition storage, and radar positions—at the banks of the eastern part of the Pangong Lake in Tibet along the Line of Actual Control. Additionally, a recent leak of a key military exercise suggests that the PLA Air Force J-16 fighter jets were training against Rafales, the most advanced combat jet of the Indian Air Force.
Like China, India has continued to ramp up infrastructure along the disputed border and to purchase cutting-edge military equipment to prepare for another border contingency with Beijing.
This reflects the mutual distrust between the two sides, as accurately noted by the Pentagon report.
Additionally, Beijing’s brazen support for the Pakistani military was on full display during the 4-day conflict between India and Pakistan. Beijing even amplified Pakistan’s unverified claims about using J-10C fighters armed with PL-15 air-to-air missiles to down multiple Indian Rafale jets.
Professor Srikanth Kondapalli, a Professor of China studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, told the EurAsian Times: “China can say that the US is sowing discord, but it does not mention why Indian citizen Prema Wangjom Thongdok was detained at the Shanghai Airport for 18 hours, or why an Indian travel vlogger Anant Mittal was detaine for 15 hours.”
India was slapped with 50% tariffs, whereas China was slapped with just 10% tariffs for buying Russian oil. The US has its own interests, and so does China, he concluded.
- Contact the author at sakshi.tiwari13 (at) outlook.com
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