Defense/Military - 50. page

One September 19, 2016, Huanqiu (the Chinese version of Global Times), Communist China’s official mouthpiece, published an article on the intention and motivation of the United States regarding the South China Sea dispute and the THAAD system in South Korea. The author of the article is Qiao Liang, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Major General who is also a professor at the PLA National Defense University in China.

Viewing the United States as a major enemy of the People’s Republic of China, Qiao Liang criticized the U.S. for continually making trouble using geopolitical means. The United States will build the THAAD system in South Korea in order to damage the China and South Korea free trade agreement. To drive capital out of China and get it to the US, the United States navy sent two aircraft carriers into the South China Sea. However, if China and the United States really get into a war, capital will leave both China and the USA, which is not consistent with the Americans’ interests and aspirations. Therefore, Americans will not fight a battle with China. China does not have to worry about a war. For the United States, the purpose of a war is to strive to maximize its national interests rather than occupy a territory.

If China wants to be a superpower, China should learn from the United States. We will take the Diaoyu or Huangyan Island back tomorrow if not today. But the historical opportunity for China to become the world’s largest economy and ultimately revive the Chinese nation could be gone any time. China cannot act “tough” as Putin does, because China relies on both imports and exports. However, we can also make trouble for the United States, Japan, and the Philippines, aiming at the soft underbelly of our opponents. China’s large foreign exchange reserves are a powerful geopolitical weapon. “As long as we think carefully, we should know how to manipulate it.”

Now China and Russia need to rely on each other to resist the United States. They will use a united front as that has helped the Chinese Communist Party grow from a small and weak to a big and strong Party.

The article concluded that, though China’s neighborhood situation is grim, there will be no war. However, Chinese military troops must be ready for a war at any time. The more we prepare for a war, the farther away the war will be from us.

Source: Huanqiu, September 19, 2016
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2016-09/9455764.html

China.com recently reported that Yang Yujun, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, spoke at a press conference in response to questions about the Korean-US deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) System. Yang said China remains strongly opposed to the THAAD system since it can cover the vast majority of Chinese territory. However, China has determined to take proper actions to maintain the regional strategic balance. Yang acknowledged that China is “appropriately” deploying a land-based mid-range anti-missile defense system. He then explained that China’s deployment plan is to defend national security and it’s not directed against any country or targets. China’s move does not impact global strategic stability and China has every right to improve its own military capabilities for self-defense. China also held The Fourth Northeast Asia Security Forum with Russia on July 28. The Forum focused on tighter cooperation between China and Russia to deal with the THAAD deployment. 

China Youth reported that, as part of the military staff cut that Xi Jinping announced last year, China has started the first round of the retirement of officers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

"The 21st Army of the Western Combat Theater, an air-defense unit of the Central Combat Theater, and an armored brigade of the Eastern Combat Theater all have recently held retirement ceremonies for the officers who are leaving the military."

One goal of Xi Jinping’s military reform was to shrink the PLA command structure. "Among the 300,000 military staff cut, half of them are officers."

Source: China Youth Daily, June 13, 2016
http://zqb.cyol.com/html/2016-06/13/nw.D110000zgqnb_20160613_2-12.htm

Leading news portal Sina recently carried a report from Xinhua titled, "Xi Jinping: No Excuses Allowed for Refusing to Take Demobilized Officers." President Xi Jinping underscored the importance of providing demobilized military officers with civilian jobs. This is considered a political task and is closely linked to national defense and military reform. On Tuesday, June 7, Zhao Leji, head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee’s organization department, conveyed Xi’s comments on this issue in a speech he gave at a recent meeting of the Politburo standing committee at the 2016 National Conference on Employment of Demobilized Officers. Xi also noted that a long-term solution for arranging civilian jobs for demobilized officers would be deepened reform. He called for measures to improve the management of the security mechanism for demobilized officers and to perfect the public service system as well as relevant policies, laws and regulations. 

Recently, the U.S.-based magazine The National Interest published an article reporting that the U.S. military is considering deploying artillery systems in the South China Sea. Chinese military experts, in an interview with CCTV, stated that the U.S. deployment of an artillery system in the South China Sea can improve the U.S. and the Philippines’ military strike capability in the South China Sea. The U.S. is militarizing the South China Sea. This will lead to regional instability.