PLA lets foreign press attend monthly briefing for first time in bid for greater transparency

Not many years ago, foreign reporters in China trying to call the country’s secretive military couldn’t even get a connection because phone numbers assigned to the journalists were barred from ringing through to the Defence Ministry.

On Thursday, members of the foreign press were finally permitted to attend the ministry’s monthly news briefing, marking a small milestone in the increasingly confident military’s efforts to project a more transparent image.

Restrictions still apply and there is no sign of an improvement in the generally paltry amount and poor quality of information released by the People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest standing military with 2.3 million members.

Officers who oversee the briefings say the new invitations reflect a desire by the top brass to allay foreigners’ concerns over fast-expanding budgets, vast hardware improvements, and an increasingly clear determination to use the military to assert China’s interests and territorial claims.

“It’s very important that we explain Chinese defence policy in a way that is understood. We especially hope that international society will have a correct and objective understanding of the Chinese military,” spokesman Yang Yujun said at a briefing to announce the change.

Although the People’s Liberation Army remains the force behind the ruling Communist Party – dedicated above all to its survival in power – it’s been eager to portray itself as a force for security and stability by taking part in international forums and peacekeeping missions such as anti-piracy patrols off the Somali coast.

Beijing has chafed against accusations of opacity from the US, Japan and others, and now publishes limited status reports on force size, weaponry and missions. It’s also been taking part in an increasing number of joint drills with others, this year joining in for the first time in the world’s largest international naval exercises hosted by the US known as the ‘Rim of the Pacific’.

The ministry began holding monthly briefings in 2011, but restricted attendance to reporters from the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Foreign media were limited to sending their questions by fax. Still, that was a vast improvement over the ministry’s previous accessibility. Less than a decade ago, calls or faxes from phone numbers in neighbourhoods where foreigners were allowed to live and work simply wouldn’t connect with the ministry.

In contrast to China’s monthly briefings, the US military holds news conferences open to all journalists up to four times per week, along with copious background briefings and wide access to exercises, bases and operations abroad – something that remains a distant prospect for the PLA.