Author : Office of the Secretary of Defense
Release : 2013-01-18
Genre : Political Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 255/5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis Military Power of the People's Republic of China 2008 by : Office of the Secretary of Defense
Download or read book Military Power of the People's Republic of China 2008 written by Office of the Secretary of Defense. This book was released on 2013-01-18. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Section 1202, "Annual Report on Military Power of the People's Republic of China," of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, Public Law 106-65, provides that the Secretary of Defense shall submit a report "on the current and future military strategy of the People's Republic of China. The report shall address the current and probable future course of military-technological development on the People's Liberation Army and the tenets and probable development of Chinese grand strategy, security strategy, and military strategy, and of the military organizations and operational concepts, through the next 20 years." China's rapid rise over recent years as a regional political and economic power with growing global influence is an important element in today's strategic landscape, one that has significant implications for the region and the world. The United States welcomes the rise of a stable, peaceful, and prosperous China. No country has done more to assist, facilitate, and encourage China's national development and its integration in the international system. The United States continues to encourage China to participate as a responsible international stakeholder by taking on a greater share of responsibility for the stability, resilience and growth of the global system. However, much uncertainty surrounds China's future course, in particular in the area of its expanding military power and how that power might be used. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is pursuing comprehensive transformation from a mass army designed for protracted wars of attrition on its territory to one capable of fighting and winning short duration, high intensity conflicts along its periphery against high-tech adversaries - an approach that China refers to as preparing for "local wars under conditions of informatization." China's ability to sustain military power at a distance remains limited but, as noted in the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review Report, it "has the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States and field disruptive military technologies that could over time offset traditional U.S. military advantages."