UN peacekeeping – risking your life to maintain order in a foreign land, is seen as one of the more noble roles in modern warfare, but a new Pentagon report shows that the US is more than a little alarmed at China’s growing humanitarian role.

The annual Department of Defense report,to the US Congress, on China, is a key document that shapes American policy for the year ahead. It flagged all the usual concerns about China, but hidden among anxieties about the opaque defense budget, technological espionage and Taiwan, is an emerging concern about the purpose of China’s peacekeeping operations.

The report claims Beijing’s international missions are aimed at accruing “diplomatic influence to facilitate access to markets, capital, and resources.”

The Pentagon also says that whatever skills are learnt during these missions, the ultimate aim is regaining control of Taiwan, which is “the principal focus and driver of much of China’s military investment.”

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