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China Chapter 14. National Defense
CHINA HAS A LONG and glorious military tradition, dating back to
the earliest days of recorded history. The martial exploits of
kings and emperors, loyal generals and peasant rebels, and
strategists and theorists are well known in Chinese high culture
and folk tradition. Throughout the centuries, two tendencies have
influenced the role of the military in national life, one in
peacetime and the other in times of upheaval. In times of peace and
stability, military forces were firmly subordinated to civilian
control. The military was strong enough to overcome domestic
rebellions and foreign invasion, yet it did not threaten civilian
control of the political system. In times of disorder, however, new
military leaders and organizations arose to challenge the old
system, resulting in the militarization of political life. When one
of these leaders became strong enough, he established a new
political order ruling all China. After consolidating power, the
new ruler or his successors subordinated the military to civilian
control once again. In the past 150 years, a third factor entered
the Chinese military tradition--the introduction of modern military
technology and organization to strengthen military capabilities
against domestic and foreign enemies. Since the beginning of the
twentieth century, all three tendencies have been discernable in
the role of the military in national life. These factors have been
particularly apparent in the role of the People's Liberation Army
in the rise to power of the Chinese Communist Party, in the
military's role in the politics of the People's Republic of China,
and in the efforts of Chinese leaders to modernize the armed
forces.
After decades of development from a peasant guerrilla force to
a conventional military organization capable of achieving longsought national liberation, the People's Liberation Army pursued
further technical competence and improved organization, with Soviet
assistance, in the 1950s. Political involvement in the Great Leap
Forward (1958-60) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) delayed
these efforts until the late 1970s, when the People's Liberation
Army embarked on a military modernization program, which had three
major focuses. First, military modernization required both the
strengthening of party control over the military and the continued
disengagement of the armed forces from politics. These steps were
necessary to ensure that a politically reliable yet professionally
competent military would concentrate on the task of military
reform. Second, defense modernization attempted to achieve improved
combat effectiveness through organizational, doctrinal, training,
educational, and personnel reforms (including recruitment,
promotion, and demobilization). These reforms emphasized the
development of combat capabilities in waging combined arms warfare.
Third, military modernization was aimed at the transformation of
the defense establishment into a system capable of independently
sustaining modern military forces. This transformation necessitated
the reorganization and closer integration of civilian and military
science and industry and also the selective use of foreign
technology.
Since the 1960s China had considered the Soviet Union the
principal threat to its security; lesser threats were posed by
long-standing border disputes with Vietnam and India. Beijing's
territorial claims and economic interests made the South China Sea
an area of strategic importance to China. Although China sought
peaceful reunification of Taiwan with the mainland, it did not rule
out the use of force against the island if serious internal
disturbances, a declaration of independence, or a threatening
alliance occurred.
The scope of foreign military cooperation has evolved
gradually. In the 1950s China dealt only with communist nations and
insurgencies. In the 1960s it began to provide military assistance
to Third World nations to counteract Soviet and United States
influence. Beginning in the late 1970s, China shifted its arms
transfer policy away from military assistance in favor of
commercial arms sales and began developing military ties with
Western Europe and the United States. Chinese military contacts
with foreign countries expanded rapidly with the introduction of
the military modernization program and the policy of opening up to
the outside world.
In the late 1980s, People's Liberation Army forces consisted of
the various arms of the ground forces, and the Air Force, Navy, and
Strategic Missile Force (also known as the Second Artillery Corps).
The ground forces were divided into group armies and regional
forces. Ground force equipment was largely of Soviet design and
obsolescent, although some weaponry had been upgraded with foreign
technology. The Air Force had serious technological deficiencies
despite incremental improvements of aircraft. The Navy was
developing a blue-water capability and sea-based strategic forces.
China possessed a small but relatively credible nuclear deterrent
force with an incipient second-strike capability. Paramilitary
forces consisted of the militia, reserve service system, Production
and Construction Corps, and People's Armed Police Force.
Data as of July 1987
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