How recent wars shaped the PLA Air Force

The People's Liberation Army Air Force has grown in leaps and bounds since it was set up with a handful of planes seized from the defeated Kuomintang force.

As the PLAAF celebrated its 60th anniversary yesterday, it boasted a full range of increasingly sophisticated weapons systems. Its role in the military is becoming increasingly important, and it enjoys priority in receiving resources.

However, for most of its history, the air force played a secondary role to the large land-based army. Its development did not really take off until the 1990s.

The catalysts that sparked a profound change in strategic thinking and prompted the PLA to shift its priorities to the air force were the 1990-91 Gulf war and, more importantly, the 1998-99 Kosovo war - the first conflict won exclusively by air power. Both wars demonstrated how powerful air forces were in relation to concentrated ground troops, and shocked Chinese military leaders into rethinking their general strategy.

'The PLA was shocked by the Gulf war after seeing how the Iraqi army, which was equipped with many Chinese-made weapons, was wiped out by the United States Air Force,' Anthony Wong Dong, president of the International Military Association in Macau, said.

'During the 38-day war, the US Air Force played a dominant role. The sort of penetration and firepower it demonstrated was something the PLAAF could not hope to equal.'