The annual report for 2011 by the US Department of Defence (DoD) on China's military developments has been released. The report covered off on the latest military developments of interest to the US, including China's new aircraft carrier and the reported development of an anti-ship ballistic missile. The report seemed balanced and continued to push the theme that China is developing and should be more transparent in what its military policy is. Not surprisingly the report was written from the perspective of US concerns and so focused very much on maritime issues. Two of the three special topics were maritime focused and there was also a chapter on China and Taiwan. The carrier received prominent mention even though it has only conducted a single sea trial. The anti-ship ballistic missile rated discussion but there have been no tests of this capability. The land component of China's forces received less coverage and a land focus was also not prevalent. The report mentioned Central Asia as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) but these topics did not gain much prominence. A report on the current US military would no doubt talk about counter-insurgency but this report mentioned that term once and that was in relation to a Chinese need to combat a Taiwanese insurgency should China ever invade the island.
The coverage of China's aircraft carrier program was sanguine. It was also more reasonable than much of the press reporting over the last few weeks. It talked about a program, recognising that the current ex-Ukrainian carrier is one step in that program and will offer only a limited capability.
China’s aircraft carrier research and development program includes renovation of the ex-VARYAG, which could begin sea trials in 2011, although without aircraft. It will likely serve initially as a training and evaluation platform, and eventually offer a limited operational capability. China could begin construction of a fully indigenous carrier in 2011, which could achieve operational capability after 2015. China likely will build multiple aircraft carriers with support ships over the next decade. [Emphasis added]
The report was also less strident about the anti-ship ballistic missile and did not go as far as recent Taiwanese claims that the missile was already operationally deployed.
China is developing an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) based on a variant of the CSS-5 medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM). Known as the DF-21D, this missile is intended to provide the PLA the capability to attack large ships, including aircraft carriers, in the western Pacific Ocean. The DF-21D has a range exceeding 1,500 km and is armed with a maneuverable warhead.
While the US is obviously concerned about China's maritime power projection and countries in Southeast Asia share that concern the paper does lose balance in not providing the same level of coverage to China's land borders. The papers does include this section, and what is below is the whole section from the report:
Central Asia. China has several important interests in Central Asia. Most notably, China is interested in acquiring energy and natural resources. Beijing has pursued multiple agreements with energy-rich Central Asian states. This includes a pipeline deal that will extend from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan into China.
Beijing is also interested in Central Asia from a domestic security perspective. From the domestic security standpoint, Beijing hopes to undermine support for China’s Uighur separatists, who share religious, ethnic, and linguistic connections to groups in Central Asia. Beijing believes that Islamic radicalism and competing political ideologies could destabilize an already fragile security situation in Western China.
China has used the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which it co-founded, to address border security, counter-terrorism, and regional security.Beijing has also conducted bilateral and multilateral exercises with SCO member states to enhance China’s regional influence and build cohesive opposition to Uighur activities. [Emphasis added]
The report needed to address China's maritime power projection but I believe that it undersells what China is doing in Central Asia. China obviously wants to influence what occurs in East Asia and Southeast Asia but China perceives the threats to come from within. Maybe the US is seeing China through an American paradigm and not paying enough attention to how China views its own place in the world.
If the DoD report was balance then that tone was matched by the response from China through the official Xinhua news agency.
The U.S. Department of Defense on Wednesday unveiled its annual report on China's military, recognizing and welcoming China's contribution to international safety and security, while still overlooking the country's peaceful defense policy.
I think the DoD report was fair and was not alarmist. It was a report written for the US and perhaps not as useful in other centres but it is still worth a read to understand China's military modernisation over the last 12 months and also how it was seen by the US DoD.
Informative post regarding US and China. I had harvested it up for examining satisfaction but to try and comprehend more about the army framework.
Posted by: ציוד לבריכות שחיה | Thursday, 09 February 2012 at 01:20