Saibal Dasgupta
Times of India
April 17, 2013
China’s military has issued a white paper blaming the US for causing tension in the Asia-Pacific region and naming Japan as a troublemaker. But the paper plays down the country’s troubled relationship with India over boundary claims. It also reveals details of China’s enormous military structure, with some of the information being released for the first time.
The report issued by the People’s Liberation Army on Tuesday complained about “neighbouring countries” complicating and exacerbating tensions. Especially targeted were China’s sea neighbours, including Japan, which the report accused of “making trouble over the Diaoyu islands”.
“China still faces multiple and complicated security threats and challenges,” said the white paper on ‘The Diversified Employment of China’s Armed Forces’.
There is little discussion about India in the paper and even joint exercises conducted between the military of the two countries have not been discussed in any detail. Military exchanges with China’s neighbours such as Vietnam, South Korea and Pakistan are specifically mentioned.
“Some countries are strengthening their Asia-Pacific military alliances, expanding military presence in the region, and frequently making the situation there tenser,” the paper said without taking any names. The obvious reference was to the expansion of US presence in the seas near South Korea, Vietnam and Japan.
Replying to a question about the US presence in Asia-Pacific, defence ministry spokesman Colonel Yang Yujun told a press conference: “Certain efforts made to highlight a military agenda and enhance military deployment and also strengthen military alliances in the region are not in line with the common interest.” Such actions “were not conducive to upholding peace and stability in the region”, he said.
About China’s military structure, the paper said the army had 850,000 officers, while the navy and air force had a strength of 235,000 and 398,000. The air force has 398,000 officers and an air command in seven military areas, while the navy commands three fleets: the Beihai, the Donghai and the Nanhai. China’s defence budget rose by 11.2% in 2012, exceeding $100 billion.
The white paper mentioned the role of China’s second artillery force, which contains its nuclear and conventional missile forces. The force is crucial to China’s “strategic deterrence” and is “primarily responsible for deterring other countries from using nuclear weapons against China, and carrying out nuclear counterattacks and precision strikes with conventional missiles”, the paper said.
