PLA review warns 'strategic uncertainties' loom large for China
Rising competition among major powers in the Asia-Pacific region poses biggest challenge since collapse of communist bloc in 1990s, report says
A PLA think tank yesterday issued a report warning that the nation faces increasing "strategic pressure" for the first time since the 1990s collapse of the communist bloc, with the Asia-Pacific region now a "new global centre" for "geopolitical, economic and military competition".
Released by the Centre for National Defence Policy (CNDP), a part of the PLA's Academy of Military Sciences, The Strategic Review 2012 says that "big powers have intensified their gaming for regional dominance".
According to Xinhua, the review states: "Amid strategic competition among the big powers, the fierce oceanic competition and frequent regional conflicts, the complexity, sensitivity and uncertainty of China's security environment loom large."
The review also notes that, as the US has accelerated the eastward shift of its strategic focus, competition for maritime rights among the region's members will become fiercer.
Territorial disputes between China and its neighbours have escalated in recent years, with relations between Beijing and Tokyo damaged by their claims to the Diaoyus, the East China Sea archipelago known to Japan as the Senkakus. Disputes between China and several Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea have also soared.
Commenting on the review, Yue Gang, a retired PLA colonel, said China faced major "strategic pressure" as it had become the largest communist state since the end of the cold war.