ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the defence politics of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). China has allocated resources to pursue a broad-based military build-up encompassing force-wide professionalization; improved training; more robust, realistic joint exercises; and the accelerated acquisition of advanced weapons. China plans to spend nearly $58,800m. on its military in 2008, an increase of about 17.6 per cent from 2007. It has also embarked on a ship-buying spree, acquiring cutting-edge vessels from Russia, and also building its own. As China’s military expansion proceeds, its military forces seem focused on preventing Taiwanese independence while preparing to compel the island to negotiate a settlement on Beijing’s terms. To achieve this main objective, China is rapidly beefing up some aspects of its military, especially its strategic missile forces. China is also making significant strides in cyber-warfare. Chinese capabilities in this area have evolved from defending its networks from attack to offensive operations against adversary networks.
