China would be victorious over the US military in the event of a war over Taiwan, a classified US government report has revealed.
The "Overmatch brief" details China's ability to take down US military power, including large ships and fighter planes.
The secret document shows America's reliance on more costly weapons leaves it vulnerable to China's cheaper and more high-tech ones, The New York Times reports.
A US official under former President Joe Biden who saw the document was said to have turned pale upon realising that "every trick we had up our sleeve, the Chinese had redundancy after redundancy".
Eric Gomez, a research fellow at the Taiwan Security Monitor, took part in a military exercise for a Taiwan conflict and said while the result was unclear, the US suffered major losses.
He told The Telegraph: "The US loses a lot of ships in the process.
"A lot of F-35s and other tactical aircraft in the theatre are degraded pretty rapidly too."
According to a US strategy document released last week, Donald Trump is aiming to prevent conflict with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea by building up US and allies' military power.
Donald Trump is aiming to prevent conflict with China over Taiwan by building up military power, according to a US document
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China views Taiwan as its own and Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
China also has vast regional claims, including almost the entire South China Sea, which are disputed by many of its smaller neighbours.
The US has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but Washington is the island's most important international backer and is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
The strategy document read: "Deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority."
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The US is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself (file photo)
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"We will build a military capable of denying aggression anywhere," the document adds.
"But the American military cannot, and should not have to, do this alone.
"Our allies must step up and spend - and more importantly do - much more for collective defence."
That will reinforce "US and allies' capacity to deny any attempt to seize Taiwan" or any other steps that would "make defending that island impossible," the report said.
President Trump has largely avoided directly saying how he would respond to a rise in tensions over the island.
Mr Biden however said repeatedly during his 2021-2025 term in office that the US would defend Taiwan if China invaded.
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