Leaked Chinese Memo: We Must “Win a War”, “Overtake the United States in Military Strength”


Radical changes being implemented across the entire Chinese military coupled with recently leaked documents stating that the ultimate objective is to “manage a crisis, contain a conflict, win a war” and “overtake the United States in military strength,” leads one less than a comfortable feeling.

The leaked documents were published by the Central Military Commission in February for the purpose of spreading President Xi Jinping’s “thought on strengthening the armed forces”.

If the reforms go ahead, they will lead to heightened tensions with China’s neighboring countries, including Japan, in the East and South China Seas and the US.

The documents read: “As we open up and expand our national interests beyond borders, we desperately need a comprehensive protection of our own security around the globe.”

The report adds a military expansion will allow China to “more effectively create a situation, manage a crisis, contain a conflict, win a war, defend the expansion of our country’s strategic interests in an all-round fashion and realize the goals set by the party and Chairman Xi”.

It also makes clear from the start that the People’s Liberation Army is in line with the “core” leader Xi Jinping and agrees and adheres to his thought on socialism for a new era.

According to Newsweek, the authors argue a “strong military might is important for a country to grow from being big to being strong,” indicating that the US, Russia and Japan are examples of it.

The document gives particular importance to avoiding the Thucydides Trap, which is when a rising power comes into conflict with a more established enemy.

The report said a strong military is the best way to “escape the obsession that war is unavoidable between an emerging power and a ruling hegemony”.

A direct confrontation with the US is referred to as “a slower vehicle on a curve”, which means it is in decline but it also claims the aim of the reforms is to surpass the American military might.

The documents were leaked as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy launched two advanced warships designed for surface warfare, long-range air defense and anti-submarine operations, as the country’s naval modernization continues.

In May, the United States raised concerns with China about its latest militarization of the South China Sea and claimed there will be short-term and long-term consequences.

In the disputed South China Sea, China has built up its presence on the islands more than any other country in the area, installing air bases, radar systems, and defense capabilities.

75% of all countries caught in the Thucydides Trap go to war. Will the U.S. and China fall into the greater percentage?
According to the People’s Liberation Army Daily in an editorial on Monday, “peace disease” has infiltrated every corner of the PLA since its last battles, with Vietnam in the late 1970s, threatening to undermine the fighting capability of what is the world’s largest military.

“Peace disease has been a common symptom in our military for decades,” the PLA Daily editorial read. “If we do not make up our mind to eliminate those evils, we must pay a heavy cost in the event of a war.

“We can only stop a war when we are able to fight.”

It stressed that the country was facing greater security threats and unprecedented global variables, and added: “Let the army get back on the right track, concentrating on combat-ready training.”

Source: Express

, Business Insider

Image: Xinhuanet


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