China’s Use of Armed Coercion in the Indo-Pacific: Current Patterns and Regional Responses

<jats:p>China's expanding use of armed coercion is a defining security challenge in the Indo-Pacific. While substantially building conventional military power, Beijing has increasingly employed a calibrated mix of military, paramilitary, law-enforcement, cyber, and dual-use capabilities to advance its political and territorial objectives while remaining below the threshold of open armed conflict.</jats:p>