The Kosovo conflict is having a momentous impact on the People's Liberation Army's modernisation programme. Even before the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, the bombardment of Yugoslavia had been analysed in detail on thousands of computer screens in PLA command centres and think-tanks.
PLA watchers believe the Balkan war, already deemed by the official media as a 'paradigm of hi-tech conflagrations in the 21st century', will spark major changes in three areas of strategic thinking.
First, unprecedented resources will be devoted to preparations for what Army strategists call possible 'hi-tech, information-based warfares'.
The successful use of cruise missiles and stealth bombers in the Gulf War in 1991 led to a series of emergency study sessions in the PLA, the goal of which was to catch up with the Americans in two decades or less.
The even more sophisticated weapons deployed in the Yugoslavian theatre have further convinced the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the urgency of closing the widening technology gap by earmarking more funds and talent for research and development.
While blasting the so-called 'barbaric' act against the embassy, Chinese scholars have marvelled at the fact that there had only been eight or nine mistakes out of the 9,000 sorties involving missiles and bombers.