Xi Jinping has firmer grip on PLA than Hu Jintao did, says Robert Gates
Former US defence secretary says president's control of PLA impacts relationship with US
President Xi Jinping has greater control of the military than his predecessor did and that increases the need for a strong White House relationship with him, former US defence secretary Robert Gates says.
Gates, 70, said in an interview on Monday that former president Hu Jintao "did not have strong control" of the People's Liberation Army.
The "best example", Gates said, was China's roll-out of its stealthy J-20 fighter jet during a visit he made in January 2010. The event seemed to catch Hu unawares, Gates said, recounting a story in his memoir Duty, which went on sale yesterday.
China posed few crises for Gates during his 4-1/2 years as defence secretary.
Tensions have grown since the Obama administration announced plans to step up military and political engagement in the Pacific, a strategy announced after Gates left office, and China stepped up its territorial claims off its coast.
Xi's stronger control is "both a good-news and a bad-news story", Gates said.
"Before, when the Chinese did something aggressive or risky, you could say, 'That's the PLA acting on their own'. Now, when they do something like declare a new air defence identification zone [in the East China Sea in November] you've got to assume President Xi approved that and is on board" and not that "this is just the PLA misbehaving or strutting its stuff", he said.