“Let China sleep, for when she wakes the world will shake.” That is according to Napoleon Bonaparte. Right now, we see a different China. Last August, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a tough speech in Beijing marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
It is especially important to emphasize how China, the world technological power between 1100 and 1800, made the West’s emergence possible. It was only by borrowing and assimilating Chinese innovations that the West was able to make the transition to modern capitalist and imperialist economies.
Direct talk to other countries is their preferences; they can control the negotiation thru business matters that is why they prefer bilateral over multilateral even before
Moreover, China’s dominant global position was challenged by the rise of British imperialism, which had adopted the advanced technological, navigational and market innovations of China and other Asian countries in order to bypass earlier stages in becoming a world power.
Read more: A ‘new normal’ in South China Sea
China has shown to the world that it will never permit the loss of “any piece” of its land to outsiders knowing that PLA has become a key pillar of support for the ruling Communist Party since 1927 and is the world’s largest standing military, with 2.3 million members.
China will think twice. Another thing they will consider is their economy might go to waste. China billion investment in other countries will be wiped out once they declare war
What makes Xi Jinping words powerful is that he boasted of his military might in public. In fact, Xi made no reference to any specific conflicts or disputes during his address, which focused largely on the PLA’s growth from a scrappy guerrilla force fighting Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists and Japanese invaders into one of the world’s most powerful, if largely untested, militaries.
Meanwhile, we can see how their military is politicized by nature. I assume that China is just using their military to determine its main function supposedly for a political shield; to protect its bureaucracy from any external and even internal influence and collision. In fact, he also emphasized that the military’s highest loyalty is to the ruling Communist Party, underscoring the PLA’s key role as regime preserver through crises such as the bloody suppression of 1989 pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square.
Read more: Philippines President says he will support his soldiers even if they…
Moreover, one thing that makes his approach effective is the repetition of the process. Xi commands the PLA as chairman of the Central Military Commission and has frequently spoken of his “China Dream” to restore China to a leadership position in international affairs with a modern, far-reaching military force to match.
The US together with the Axis of Anglo-Saxons successfully blockades China’s access to Malacca Straits like the US & UK did to Japan using the ABCD blockade before World War II
It takes a lot of engineering wherein a radical upgrading of the PLA’s capabilities through years of double-digit percentage increases in the defense budget has been happening; making China the world’s second-largest military spender after the United States, although growth has slowed alongside a cooling of the overall economy.
To balance off, in terms of war experience and modern war armaments, China is far behind, lone aircraft carrier cannot simply simultaneously attack other country but once there is war scenario, a substantial damage by China can’t be simply ignored. If ground war will be on-going, numbers of Chinese Army will have some edge. But in terms of war experience and advanced armaments, the US will be tough to defeat.
Now, if the US together with the Axis of Anglo-Saxons successfully blockades China’s access to Malacca Straits like the US & UK did to Japan using the ABCD blockade before World War II, that will probably push China to strike first similar to Japan having to strike Pearl Harbor. That is one of the reasons the even US can’t simply provoke China. Asian countries will be the first one to bear the war impact. Meanwhile, US still needs other countries to counter China. Obviously, if there is a war, they prefer to fight it on a foreign soil.
Read more: Philippines’ deadly drug war praised by Donald Trump, says Rodrigo Duterte
I assume that China is just using their military to determine its main function supposedly for a political shield; to protect its bureaucracy from any external and even internal influence and collision
Nearby country such Taiwan, although they have military capability, is playing safe since US’ arms supply is limited. Asian countries mostly allied with the western coalition will bear the brunt of China’s retaliation.
On the other hand, China will think twice. Another thing Chinese will consider is their economy might go to waste. China’s massive investment in other countries will be wiped out once they declare war. Direct talk to other countries is their preferences; they can control the negotiation through business matters, that is why they prefer bilateral over multilateral ties. It was only now that they engage with ASEAN through Code of Conduct (COC) which is still in the process of negotiation.
The writer is a defence and security analyst based in the Philippines. He has co-authored many books including the Handbook of Terrorism 2019 (Philippines). His works have appeared in Eurasia Review, Global Security Review and Geopolitical Monitor.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.