China's Military Views the World: Ambivalent Security

Abstract

Many scholars and commentators have raised questions about China's regional and global aspirations, particularly in the military sphere. David Shambaugh of the Sigur Center for East Asian Studies at George Washington University evaluates the perceptions and attitudes of the People's Liberation Army at the beginning of the twenty-first century. After consideration of some of the factors that continue to shape China's strategic calculus—including the 1999 Kosovo conflict, mounting concerns over U.S. global predominance, and deep suspicion of Japan's "militarist" tendencies in Northeast Asia—Shambaugh concludes that the PLA's views of China's security environment are often marked by considerable ambivalence, but generally reflect a pessimistic appraisal of Chinese security—sharply contrasting with the outlook of China's civilian defense analysts.