The Year of 2008 for the Peoples Liberation Army (China)
The year of 2008 began with full of events for the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in China. First in January, the Navy renamed its refurbished carrier Varyag (former Russian carrier) to Shi Lang, the Chinese General who conducted the military operation in Taiwan in the late 17th century. Some of you may remember Varyag because it was purchased initially with a plan to convert it into a floating casino in Macao several years ago. With a rumor that the US Navy and the Pentagon is planning to sell its 50-year-old carrier to India, strengthening carrier and amphibious capacity (the ability to carryout sealifts) is a military rationale. Yet, the naming the new carrier after General Lang seems to disregard the recent Taiwanese effort to normalize the Sino-Taiwanese relationship. Although the Taiwanese foreign policy swings alongside with the Taiwanese domestic politics, this action by the PLA seems to hastily tighten the Taiwanese attitude. Whether this order comes from Beijing or not is a different question.
One sure order coming from Beijing is the case of Tibet. This article does not analyze the decades long conflict in the region. If one argues for Tibet with the logic of National Self-Determination, the multi-ethnic Peoples Republic of China will collapse. If one ignores this logic, however, any wars can be justified. The realistic line seems to belong somewhere between, and that is the job of the international public, or the United Nations – maybe.
Utilizing the Olympic game as a political tool to strengthen Chinese claim in Tibet and other autonomous regions is conducted not only by the PLA. Protests against such Chinese claims often encounter massive support from people in and out of China (presumably, those supporters have the Chinese origin). The frustration on the both Chinese and Tibetan sides (for how they can successfully convince the international public) frequently appears on mass media including the Internet. The CNN website, for example, was hacked several times in the past month after a TV caster negatively commented on the Tibet issue against China. Alongside with such on-line operations (whether voluntary or official), the PLA is now conducting numerous arrests in Tibet and other autonomous regions. Yet, such violent actions may be persevered as a pretext for massacre, and therefore, anti-Chinese movement spreads among the international public. Surely, mayors of San Francisco, Paris and other governmental officials called for non-violence. The public opinion, however, can easily fuel politicians to take hostile actions against China. The PLA, therefore, must not conduct military operations in any autonomous regions at this moment as such operations possess a highly negative political consequence in the international arena.
As far the PLA Air Force, it has ordered several hundreds of new fighters (allegedly, Su-27 series). Its “patrolling” missions on the Sea of Japan as well as the East China Sea caused nearly a thousand scrambles by the Japanese Self Defense Force in the past years. The tension in this region is not as high as Tibet or Taiwan. Nevertheless, the PLA Navy and Air Force might politicize this region in order to gain a larger budget and importance of this region in the Chinese foreign agenda. As the Tibetan issue escalates, the PLA Army will gain unquestionable support from Beijing. The reaction of the PLA Navy and Air Force is a hidden consequence of this issue.
In conclusion, the PLA and decision making process in Beijing is as clear and transparent as the Red Army and Moscow during the Soviet era. Besides this rather ironic statement, this article emphasizes the multi-layer effect of the both Taiwanese and Tibetan issue: escalating violence in non-conventional means (e.g. Internet), campaign of legitimacy in international public, and a possible political struggle among the Navy, Air Force and Army. The Peoples Republic of China holds a veto power in the United Nations Security Council; It is a time for the international society to prove its capability.
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