'PLA has plan to destroy West's finance systems in dirty war'

Chinese military strategists have developed plans to destroy Western financial institutions in the event of a major conflict, according to a report in a British newspaper.

Senior members of the People's Liberation Army are said to be urging the Government to abandon conventional defence strategies and prepare for a 'dirty war'.

The Sunday Telegraph yesterday said PLA officials were advocating terrorism, biochemical warfare, environmental damage and computer viruses as a means of throwing the West into political and economic crisis.

The maverick officers maintained that the mainland must use such tactics because it cannot hope to match the West's military might.

Outlines of the plans have been revealed in books and newspaper articles published on the mainland.

The blueprints for the dirty war say the PLA should infiltrate and sabotage key pillars of Western society, including banks and the public sector, in a response to a direct threat of war.

The officers argue that Beijing's attempts to upgrade its nuclear and conventional arsenal to match America's are insufficient to prepare China for conflict.