China's participation in the recently concluded Vostok 2018 war games doesn't mean China is now more of a military threat to the West, especially the United States, argues an op-ed in the Global Times, a tabloid owned by the Communist Party of China (CPC). Neither is China preparing for war.
China still doesn't want to be enemy to any country, said the op-ed written by Huang Panyue, a Global Times editor. The People's Liberation Army (PLA), China's vast armed forces, still don't see any country as a rival or opponent "unless it threatens China's core interests."
The PLA, especially the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), restricts its military activities to mostly coastal waters to the east of China (the East China Sea and South China Sea, in particular) and only ventures further (such as into the Western Pacific Ocean controlled by the United States) "in very rare cases. He said coastal waters remain the political home and psychological base for the Chinese military.
More importantly, China and Russia remain only partners and not formal military allies, emphasized Huang. There is no formal defensive treaty binding either country or any military pact which mandates that one country come to the aid of the other in case one is engaged in a war against the West.
What China and Russia do have is a comprehensive strategic partnership. This partnership is defensive in nature, and aims to allow both countries to create a sense of security by supporting each other "back-to-back."
Huang argues this is a typical defensive posture. If either country fights a war, "they cannot stand 'back-to-back' anymore," according to Huang. Neither China nor Russia is challenging the United States' foundation of global leadership.
With these considerations in mind, Huang is puzzled why China's participation in Russia's Vostok 2018 war games that ended Sept. 17 is being viewed by some in the West as an indication of expansive Chinese militarism.
China's participation in Vostok 2018 was paltry. It sent only 3,200 troops from the People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) to the exercise, along with more than 1,000 pieces of equipment and just 30 aircraft.
The number of Chinese soldiers was about a tenth of the number mobilized by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for this exercise, which the Kremlin brags was the largest since the era of the defunct Soviet Union.
Among China's military hardware at Vostok 2018 were Type-99 main battle tanks; ZBD-08 infantry fighting vehicles; WZ-9 and WZ-19 attack helicopter; Mi-171 helicopters and JH-7A fighter-bombers.
China's reasons for joining Vostok 2018 were non-aggressive, claims Huang. China took part in Vostok 2018 for two reasons. One was to consolidate the friendship and military-to-military relationship between both countries and deepen the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership. The second reason was to learn from the Russian armed forces in terms of military technology. Huang cited Russia's combat experience in the Syrian Civil War as something the PLA can learn from.
Huang goes on to remind his readers that China "will continue focusing its attention on economic development for a long time to come." The fundamental foundation for China's international relations will be to constantly expand mutually beneficial cooperation, rather than seeking expansion and enlarging its living space by force based on its strength.
