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Remember China?
via The Weekly Std - EFLLogin, if needed: gdfs / gdfsjb To satisfy some here who have an itch for China, here ya go... While the war on terror rages, a new report reminds us that Chinaâs ascent to great power status continues apace. by Christian Lowe 06/17/2004 12:00:00 AM While all eyes are focused on enemies who present clear and present dangers, such as those in Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Korea, another country whose military was a chief concern during the â90s has faded to the background. A recently released Pentagon report provides a stark reminder that America needs to keep an eye on developments in the far east. Though few in the news media paid heed to the 2004 report on Chinese military power, it offers an enlightening glimpse into Asiaâs fast growing economic and military powerhouse and a vivid, although highly interpretive, look into how China sees the conduct of Americaâs wars. In the 2000 National Defense bill, Congress required the Pentagon to report annually its assessment of Chinaâs military strength, development, and strategic focus. That requirement came not without controversy, since these reports could be construed as hindrances to Sino-U.S. détente. After all, throughout the Cold War, the Pentagon printed a voluminous yearly report titled Soviet Military Power. The first report on China, which was reluctantly released in June of 2000, stressed Chinaâs overwhelming focus on a potential conflict erupting across the Taiwan Strait. China reacted to the victory over Iraqi forces in the 1991 Persian Gulf War by stressing the modernization of its forces and the development--or purchase--of precision-guided munitions, including cruise missiles, laser-guided bombs, and short-range ballistic missiles. The Chinese also learned from Operation Allied Force in 1999, which stressed the need for a capability to strike targets at long range using air power and to leverage space for greater battlefield information and intelligence. Allied Force also offered lessons to the Chinese in the need to counter U.S. space systems, prompting increased development of anti-satellite weaponry and computer hacking attacks, previous reports state. And China recognized the importance of denial and deception, placing a greater emphasis on the ability to camouflage equipment, mask transmissions, and fortify complexes below ground. This yearâs report, which was released May 28, builds on previous ones, emphasizing the Chinese militaryâs interpretation of the global war on terrorism and the lessons drawn from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. According to the report, the Chinese military high command recognized the speed and shock of the American assault on Saddamâs forces and its ability to maintain lines of supply and logistics within a non-linear battlefield. Gone was the idea that one nation need only long-range precision airpower to dominate another. The Chinese military also sees the global war on terrorism in a larger context, with some reading American victories in the Middle East and Central Asia not as steps toward a lasting security, but rather as further solidifying a U.S. global hegemony. ...more... While itâs easy to see China as either a second-world nation with Soviet-style aspirations and prospects or as a behemoth awakening and soon to be able to leap tall bldgs in a single bound, the truth is, well, itâs a hash with a measure of both. Add massive doses of paranoia, ego, fear, arrogance, and everything-envy and you come pretty close. They are definitely on the schedule... Old Alma Mater More Science High is currently early in the 2nd Qtr with Islamic Jihad HS -- the Winner takes on Golden Dragon HS next. Posted by: .com 2004-06-18 |
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