Fear of Chinese military threat is questionable

Lu Guangye, China Institute for Strategic International Studies, China Daily, Asia News Network, Beijing

China's military modernization efforts adhere to the principle of active defense and will never pose a threat to other nations. In the 100 years following the 1840 Opium War, China suffered untold humiliations and losses from imperialist invasions due to its weak national strength and backward military forces. The Chinese people realized there will be no peace and security without a strong military shield.

Therefore, since the founding of New China in 1949, the nation has attached great importance to the construction of national defense.

China's military modernization process entered a new chapter in the 1980s, alongside the nation's reform and opening up. Military modernization was put forward as part of the modernization drive.

The 1991 Gulf War demonstrated modern warfare is characterized by high-tech weapons, advanced commanding systems and efficient logistics support.

From the early 1990s, China has gradually adjusted its military building guidance to prepare itself for high-tech regional wars. "Strengthen the army through science and technology" was put forward as the new directive.

To efficiently use defense resources and enhance the army's combating capacity, China twice cut down its military personnel from 4.23 million to 3.2 million in 1985, and further to 2.7 million in 1997. Now the scale is maintained at 2.5 million.

During the strenuous military structure readjustment, redundant staff were streamlined, obsolete equipment was up- graded, logistic management systems were improved and a new rank system was adopted.

Intellectual training has been given top priority and modern training methods have been adopted, as talents are crucial to a nation's military building.

Some newly established troops, such as the air force and the electronic countermeasure force, have greatly enhanced the army's overall combat capability.

China has also done a lot in military mobilization, especially in maintaining a reserve army and militia. More specific laws and regulations have been passed to cultivate knowledge on national defense and ensure an abundant defense reserve.

Thanks to the efforts of approximately 50 years, China has made great strides forward in its military modernization drive in hardware and software aspects.

China has successfully tested nuclear and hydrogen bombs, man- made satellites, transcontinental rockets, nuclear submarines and strategic missiles. Chinese scientists have also achieved remarkable progress in the design and manufacturing of conventional weapons.

These have tremendously improved the nation's military might and, therefore, its international status.

However, China's military modernization efforts are all defense-oriented and pose no threat to any other country.

As a developing country, China is devoted to its economic construction. Its overall military strength is still weak compared with some strong military powers. China has no intention and no capacity to become a threat to other countries.

However, in recent years, some countries have deliberately concocted the so-called "China threat" theory with ulterior motives.

The rumors mainly focus on China's defense budget increase, its army scale, long-range missiles and navy activities.

The truth is China's defense budget this year is only US$17 billion, about 5 and 37 percent of that of the United States and Japan respectively. That number is also far lower than that of other developed countries.

In the 1990s, China's military expenditure merely accounted for 1.06 to 1.53 percent of its gross national product, far less than the 2 to 3 percent standard in other major military powers.

The average increase of China's military expenses from 1979- 1994 is negative 1.08 percent considering the inflation factor. Thus the double-digit increases in recent years started from a very low base.

As for China's military scale, it is necessary to keep relatively large-scale military troops -- in particular the army -- given China's vast territory, inconvenient transportation, large population and cross-Straits separation. There are only 1.9 soldiers per 1,000 residents in China, fewer than most other nations.

China's navy and air force, just for defense purposes, are still weak due to their backward military equipment, and it was only for training that the Chinese navy conducted some blue-sea activities.

China has not deployed a single warship in other countries' coastal waters and will never pursue blue-sea warfares. It is sheer nonsense to say Chinese navy activities constitute a menace to other countries' security.

China is a nuclear power but the number of China's nuclear weapons is very limited, and the technology level is inferior to other big powers. The nuclear force just serves as a deterrent against possible nuclear attacks.

Above all, China promised from the very beginning that it would never use nuclear weapons first against other countries or use them to bully non-nuclear nations.

Facts speak louder than words. The so-called "China threat" theory which attempts to disrupt China's development process is utterly groundless. Insightful people can see through it with a glance.