Chinese President Xi Jinping presents the heads of the National Defence University of the People's Liberation Army with the military flag in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua
Cary Huang, South China Morning Post: China's military is stronger than ever, but is it strong enough?
The world’s second-largest military has the tools necessary to serve the geopolitical interests of Beijing, but critics say the People’s Liberation Army would still be outclassed in any real confrontation with the United States
Beijing will mark the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Tuesday with a strong message that China’s army today is vastly different from its humble origins, and is now more than capable of standing up to protect its country’s national sovereignty and interests.
The 2.3 million strong PLA, the world’s largest-standing force, was founded on August 1, 1927, in a Communist Party organised uprising. Since then it has transformed from a peasant army to a modernised fighting force, with the tools necessary to help make the Middle Kingdom a global maritime and space power.
As tensions continue to rise between China and the United States – which boasts the world’s largest military – some speculate that a conflict between the two powers may now be more likely than a US-Soviet confrontation during the cold-war period decades ago.
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WNU Editor: China has been pursuing a policy of becoming the world's economic/military/and political super-power by the end of this century. With these goals in mind .... China's military is nowhere near strong enough to meet these policy objectives. The proper question that should be asked is .... is it in China's interest to be such a superpower?