Pentagon worried by China in space and cyberspace

By Andrew Gray

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China is developing weapons that would disable its enemies' space technology such as satellites in a conflict, the Pentagon said in a report released on Monday.

The report also said "numerous" intrusions into computer networks around the world, including some owned by the U.S. government, in the past year seem to have originated in China.

The assessments feature in an annual report on China's military power by the Pentagon for the U.S. Congress. Beijing routinely criticizes the report, saying it unfairly portrays China as a military threat when it is committed to peace.

David Sedney, a top Pentagon China specialist, said there was no call for U.S. alarm over China but repeated a frequent U.S. complaint that Beijing has not made clear the reasons for its rapid military modernization and spending growth.

"I think the biggest thing for people to be concerned about really is the fact that we don't have that kind of strategic understanding of the Chinese intentions," said Sedney, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia.

"That leads to uncertainty," he said, briefing journalists at the Pentagon on the latest report.

China has posted a string of double-digit percentage rises in military spending in the past decade and many analysts say Beijing understates the amount it spends.

However, even the highest estimates of the true figure are dwarfed by U.S. defense spending.