Chinese military 'better equipped to invade Taiwan'

China's armed forces are now capable of launching an all-out invasion of Taiwan after the emerging superpower boosted its arsenal with new missiles and amphibious ships, a US congressional report warns.

The danger of conflict is compounded because the ability of the US military to deter a Chinese attack has entered period of "dangerous uncertainty," the report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said.

China, which claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory, has rapidly increased the number of intermediate-range missiles aimed at the self-governing island state from 30 to 200 over the past few years.

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New amphibious ships bolstered the Chinese navy and civilian vessels are being converted to ferry People's Liberation Army soldiers across the 160km Taiwan Straits.

While a full-scale invasion of Taiwan would be a high risk for China, it would be supported by missile strikes, cyberwarfare and a blockade.

"Given these developments, it has become less certain that US conventional military forces alone will continue to deter China's leaders from initiating an attack on Taiwan," the report said.

Last month the leader of Taiwan said the threat from Beijing is growing "every day," as for the first time she confirmed the presence of American troops on Taiwanese soil.

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President Tsai Ing-wen told CNN that Taiwan was a "beacon" of democracy that needed to be defended to uphold faith worldwide in democratic values.

Taiwan and mainland China have been separately governed since the Nationalists retreated to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese civil war more than 70 years ago.

Taiwan is now a flourishing democracy but the mainland's ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to view the island as an inseparable part of its territory - despite having never controlled it.

- With CNN