But the Pentagon report describes something far more sophisticated: a China that has now leapt into the first ranks of offensive cybertechnologies. It is investing in electronic warfare capabilities in an effort to blind American satellites and other space assets, and hopes to use electronic and traditional weapons systems to gradually push the United States military presence into the mid-Pacific nearly 2,000 miles from China’s coast. 
 
 The report argues that China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, commissioned last September, is the first of several carriers the country plans to deploy over the next 15 years. It said the carrier would not reach “operational effectiveness” for three or four years, but is already set to operate in the East and South China Seas, the site of China’s territorial disputes with several neighbors, including Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The report notes a new carrier base under construction in Yuchi. 
 
 The report also detailed China’s progress in developing its stealth aircraft, first tested in January 2011. 
 
 Three months ago the Obama administration would not officially confirm reports in The New York Times, based in large part on a detailed study by the computer security firm Mandiant, that identified P.L.A. Unit 61398 near Shanghai as the likely source of many of the biggest thefts of data from American companies and some government institutions. 
 
 Until Monday, the strongest critique of China had come from Thomas E. Donilon, the president’s national security adviser, who said in a speech at the Asia Society in March that American companies were increasingly concerned about “cyberintrusions emanating from China on an unprecedented scale,” and that “the international community cannot tolerate such activity from any country.” He stopped short of blaming the Chinese government for the espionage. 
 
 But government officials said the overall issue of cyberintrusions would move to the center of the United States-China relationship, and it was raised on recent trips to Beijing by Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey. 
 
 To bolster its case, the report argues that cyberweapons have become integral to Chinese military strategy. It cites two major public works of military doctrine, “Science of Strategy” and “Science of Campaigns,” saying they identify “information warfare (I.W.) as integral to achieving information superiority and an effective means for countering a stronger foe.” But it notes that neither document “identifies the specific criteria for employing a computer network attack against an adversary,” though they “advocate developing capabilities to compete in this medium.” ||||| A member of the People's Liberation Army's navy guard of honour adjusts military uniforms before an official welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing April 15, 2013. 
 
 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China is using espionage to acquire technologies to fuel its fast-paced military modernization program, the Pentagon said on Monday in an annual report that for the first time accused Beijing of trying to break into U.S. defense computer networks. 
 
 In its 83-page annual report to Congress on Chinese military developments, the Pentagon also cited progress in Beijing's effort to develop advanced-technology stealth aircraft and build an aircraft carrier fleet to project power further offshore. 
 
 The report said China's cyber snooping was a "serious concern" that pointed to an even greater threat because the "skills required for these intrusions are similar to those necessary to conduct computer network attacks." 
 
 "The U.S. government continued to be targeted for (cyber) intrusions, some of which appear to be attributable directly to the Chinese government and military," it said, adding the main purpose of the hacking was to gain information to benefit defense industries, military planners and government leaders. 
 
 A spokeswoman said it was the first time the annual Pentagon report had cited Beijing for targeting U.S. defense networks. Despite concerns over the intrusions, a senior U.S. defense official said his main worry was China's over lack of transparency about its military intentions. 
 
 "What concerns me is the extent to which China's military modernization occurs in the absence of the type of openness and transparency that others are certainly asking of China," David Helvey, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, told a Pentagon briefing on the report. 
 
 Helvey welcomed Chinese moves toward greater openness but said there were still many unanswered questions and warned of the "potential implications and consequences of that lack of transparency on the security calculations of others in the region." 
 
 The annual China report, which Congress began requesting in 2000, comes amid ongoing tensions in the region due to China's military assertiveness and expansive claims of sovereignty over disputed islands and shoals. Beijing has ongoing territorial disputes with the Philippines, Japan and other neighbors. 
 
 Beijing's publicly announced defense spending has grown at an inflation-adjusted pace of nearly 10 percent annually over the past decade, but Helvey said China's actual outlays were thought to be higher. 
 
 China announced a 10.7 percent increase in military spending to $114 billion in March, the Pentagon report said. Publicly announced defense spending for 2012 was $106 billion, but actual pending for 2012 could range between $135 billion and $215 billion, it said. U.S. defense spending is more than double that, at more than $500 billion. 
 
 The report highlighted China's continuing efforts to gain access to sophisticated military technology to fuel its modernization program. It cited a laundry list of methods, including "state-sponsored industrial and technical espionage to increase the level of technologies and expertise available to support military research, development and acquisition." 
 
 "China continues to engage in activities designed to support military procurement and modernization," the report said. "These include economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, export control violations, and technology transfer." 
 
 Dean Cheng, an analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, said he was surprised by the number of cases of human espionage - as opposed to just cyber prying - cited in the report. 
 
 "This is a PLA that is extensively, comprehensively modernizing ... they're pushing across the board," Cheng said. "China is also comprehensively engaging in espionage." 
 
 China tested its second advanced stealth fighter in as many years in October 2012, highlighting its "continued ambition to produce advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft," the report said. Neither aircraft of its stealth aircraft is expected to achieve effective operational capability before 2018, it said. 
 
 Last year also saw China commission its first domestically produced aircraft carrier, the report said. China currently has one aircraft carrier purchased abroad and conducted its first takeoff and landing from the ship in November, the report said. 
 
 It predicted China would spend three to four years training and integrating the ship into its fleet before having a fully operational aircraft carrier capability. 
 
 (Reporting By David Alexander and Phil Stewart; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and David Brunnstrom)
– The Pentagon is squarely blaming China for hacking into its computer systems, marking the first time the Obama administration has made the accusation. China's spying is aimed in large part at boosting its own defense capabilities, the Pentagon says in its annual report to Congress, per Reuters. Further, China may be seeking to identify US "military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis," the report says. What's more, the "skills required for these intrusions are similar to those necessary to conduct computer network attacks." Cyberspying is also probably being used to gather information about US policy plans, the report says, via the New York Times. Last year, China targeted "numerous computer systems around the world." The 83-page document also describes other advancements in China's military, including plans to develop several aircraft carriers. Its first, which could be ready in three or four years, is poised for deployment near territories disputed with Japan, the Philippines, and other countries. The US, meanwhile, is improving its own cyber arsenal.