- Reaction score
- 4,104
- Points
- 1,160
A pretty good article- http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1117/p01s03-woap.html?s=u2
Excerpt
"In a surprisingly short time, China has accomplished two feats. One, it has focused its energy and wealth on creating an army within an army. It has devoted huge amounts of capital to create a small high-tech army within its old 2.2 million-member rifle and shoe-leather force.
The specialty of this modern force, about 15 percent of the PLA, is to conduct lightning attacks on smaller foes, using an all-out missile attack designed to paralyze, and a modern sea and air attack coordinated by high-tech communications. In other words, this new modern force is designed to attack Taiwan.
Second, China has taken painful but successful steps to create a "defense industrial base," or weapons-building capability. The PLA has improved its factory quality control and its ability to adapt foreign technology. It is bringing an indigenous small-wing F-10 fighter off the production line, and it is moving rapidly toward a "blue water" Navy with ships built in China."
Comment
As noted further down in the article, it seems Chinese military ambitions have now moved beyond Taiwan and are much broader in regional and perhaps even hemispheric scope with a view towards achieving some sort of very broad military dominance including conventional and tactical nuclear dominance over the United States within the Chinese AoI. In particular, the hi-tech army within an army seems to be equipping itself for the very purpose of engaging and defeating American carrier battle groups and tactical air forces.
From what I see of this, the author of the article has not done a good job of explaining how the Chinese plan to deal with the inevitable swarming of their own BG's and coastlines by USN SSN's, unless of course the Russians sign on. I still think the US could take them on within the region, but not at the doorstep to China. Still, I agree that it could happen:
"Historically, in fact, China is not an aggressor. It rarely attacks. But then, what is called "China" has moved only in the late 20th century from a sprawling "civilization" to a nation in the modern sense. Moreover, the sense of national pride in China is powerful. As one rather liberal intellectual told the Monitor, "In our hearts, most of us want China to be great - we feel deeply a desire to help run Asia and the world."
What concerns some American China experts is that creating a modern army will also create the dynamic to use a modern army. Analysts like Mulvenon point to possible unintended consequences of a buildup."
Excerpt
"In a surprisingly short time, China has accomplished two feats. One, it has focused its energy and wealth on creating an army within an army. It has devoted huge amounts of capital to create a small high-tech army within its old 2.2 million-member rifle and shoe-leather force.
The specialty of this modern force, about 15 percent of the PLA, is to conduct lightning attacks on smaller foes, using an all-out missile attack designed to paralyze, and a modern sea and air attack coordinated by high-tech communications. In other words, this new modern force is designed to attack Taiwan.
Second, China has taken painful but successful steps to create a "defense industrial base," or weapons-building capability. The PLA has improved its factory quality control and its ability to adapt foreign technology. It is bringing an indigenous small-wing F-10 fighter off the production line, and it is moving rapidly toward a "blue water" Navy with ships built in China."
Comment
As noted further down in the article, it seems Chinese military ambitions have now moved beyond Taiwan and are much broader in regional and perhaps even hemispheric scope with a view towards achieving some sort of very broad military dominance including conventional and tactical nuclear dominance over the United States within the Chinese AoI. In particular, the hi-tech army within an army seems to be equipping itself for the very purpose of engaging and defeating American carrier battle groups and tactical air forces.
From what I see of this, the author of the article has not done a good job of explaining how the Chinese plan to deal with the inevitable swarming of their own BG's and coastlines by USN SSN's, unless of course the Russians sign on. I still think the US could take them on within the region, but not at the doorstep to China. Still, I agree that it could happen:
"Historically, in fact, China is not an aggressor. It rarely attacks. But then, what is called "China" has moved only in the late 20th century from a sprawling "civilization" to a nation in the modern sense. Moreover, the sense of national pride in China is powerful. As one rather liberal intellectual told the Monitor, "In our hearts, most of us want China to be great - we feel deeply a desire to help run Asia and the world."
What concerns some American China experts is that creating a modern army will also create the dynamic to use a modern army. Analysts like Mulvenon point to possible unintended consequences of a buildup."
