On the “Strong Nation Forum” (qiangguo luntan 强国论坛) on the People’s Daily website, military expert, Major General Peng Guangqian, answered questions from Chinese netizens. He expressed the view that military force is always an important means to safeguard national sovereignty. When someone asked: “In what situation would China use military force? Is it correct that China would never use military force no matter what happened?" Peng answered: “When China’s national core interests are violated, and when this cannot be stopped without military intervention, we have no choice but to use force to counterattack. In an era in which hegemonism and power politics still exist and are even progressing, military force is always an important means to safeguard national sovereignty and can never be excluded. We are not absolute pacifists. We cannot beg for peace. Rather we can only use force to obtain peace. If we give up the use of force, we can then only surrender and wait while others partition us at will.
Source: People’s Daily, May 17, 2012
http://military.people.com.cn/GB/17917831.html