China’s Military Transformation
1 Introduction
With rare exception, China has been considered by the world as little more than a footnote to the history of the nuclear era. However, in recent years the pace and scope of China’s military transformation has been seen to have increased significantly. In the current climate, it is now a fact that China is increasingly modernising its military, and this, in conjunction with China’s rising economic power, is new to history. Following from this, many countries and leaders are no longer hesitant to promulgate their views or express their opinions regarding such policies options, with many countries stating that it is becoming hard to deny that over the past two decades rapid economic growth has allowed China to engage in robust military modernisation with the investment growth rate of more than ten percent per year, with some going as far as to argue that the real defence budget could be two to three times higher than the stated figure of the Chinese government. In short, China is becoming a potential threat to regional and international peace and security.
The focus of many countries concerning the Chinese military threat revolves around three main developments, these being nuclear weapons, the defence budget’s rapid and continuous growth, as well as its allocation which continuously has never been entirely accounted for. This is exacerbated by the modernisation of its nuclear and missile forces, as well as the naval and air forces in recent years, while at the same time expanding the scope of its maritime operations. These ideas have been further fuelled by China’s acquisition of advanced weapons systems and the continuous increases in both a secretive and opaque defence budget. These policies have led many to believe that China will soon emerge as the country whose nuclear policy will matter most, not only to its regional partners, but also to the international system as a whole. Due to this, China’s relatively new military modernisation is
With rare exception, China has been considered by the world as little more than a footnote to the history of the nuclear era. However, in recent years the pace and scope of China’s military transformation has been seen to have increased significantly. In the current climate, it is now a fact that China is increasingly modernising its military, and this, in conjunction with China’s rising economic power, is new to history. Following from this, many countries and leaders are no longer hesitant to promulgate their views or express their opinions regarding such policies options, with many countries stating that it is becoming hard to deny that over the past two decades rapid economic growth has allowed China to engage in robust military modernisation with the investment growth rate of more than ten percent per year, with some going as far as to argue that the real defence budget could be two to three times higher than the stated figure of the Chinese government. In short, China is becoming a potential threat to regional and international peace and security.
The focus of many countries concerning the Chinese military threat revolves around three main developments, these being nuclear weapons, the defence budget’s rapid and continuous growth, as well as its allocation which continuously has never been entirely accounted for. This is exacerbated by the modernisation of its nuclear and missile forces, as well as the naval and air forces in recent years, while at the same time expanding the scope of its maritime operations. These ideas have been further fuelled by China’s acquisition of advanced weapons systems and the continuous increases in both a secretive and opaque defence budget. These policies have led many to believe that China will soon emerge as the country whose nuclear policy will matter most, not only to its regional partners, but also to the international system as a whole. Due to this, China’s relatively new military modernisation is
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