With an Eye on US Tension, China Asserts Itself Militarily

Regional clashes meant to show China capable of defending itself

While most of the focus on China’s military policy is the risk of conflict with the US, the Chinese military has also taken a few steps into potential conflicts in the area. This involves military operations around Taiwan, and a clash along the border with India.

While these moves risk unfortunate skirmishes in the immediate future with China’s neighbors, but analysts believe that the PLA is doing all of this with an eye on the United States, and hoping to send a message that their military is formidable.

With the world’s second largest military by expenditure, China feels the US is their only real “threat,” and while that may be fair, they may also find that focusing exclusively on one power risks making unwise moves with respect to everyone else.

The most obvious example is India, because whether or not they pose a real threat, they are also a nuclear power, and having Chinese and Indian troops hammering one another with metal bats and chains is certainly a sign of a situation risking losing control.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.