PLA's eagerness to attack pirates seen signaling push for greater power projectio
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 Free Headline Alerts
East-Asia-Intel.com
In an unusual public display of growing Chinese military assertiveness, a PLA general last week called for Chinese naval forces to conduct military strikes on pirates and also conduct military and paramilitary operations far from Chinese shores.
PLA Maj. Gen. Jin Yinan, deputy director of the Strategic Teaching and Research Office of the National Defense University and director of the Strategy Research Institute, told China National Radio that Somali piracy is “typical terrorism.”
“To strike the pirates, we must combine effecting a permanent cure with providing temporary solutions; the Chinese navy should be mobilized to attack the Somali pirates,” he said.
China currently has limited naval power projection capabilities but its forces are rapidly expanding with the building of large numbers of guided missile ships and with plans for aircraft carriers and associated battle groups. China also is building large numbers of submarines, including nuclear-armed missile boats.
Dispatching Chinese navy warships will provide not only experience for fighting pirates but also training for other military missions “on deep oceans,” he said.
The comments highlight concerns of U.S. civilian and military analysts who worry that Beijing will use any role in the deployment of military forces against piracy as a springboard for expanding forces for even greater power projection capabilities around the world.
The general sought to dismiss such concerns, saying such critics believe in the so-called "China threat theory."
“I believe that if the Chinese navy is mobilized, it will surely deliver an outstanding performance” against pirates, he insisted.
However, Jin said that PLA warships would not be limited to dealing with Somali pirates, but would permit power projection throughout the South China Sea, Malacca Strait, Indian Ocean and into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The objective would be to protect maritime interests, “maintain regional security" and “preserve the security of naval travel and maritime passages by deploying its naval forces,” he said. “This is the most important point.”
Jin also said that China’s military could be used for non-combat operations but noted that within such operations “military operations and combat actions might be included.”
Jin criticized comments by Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, who sought to play down the military nature of international anti-piracy operations near the Horn of Africa. Jin said the U.S. Navy wanted to control 16 important waterways in the area, including the Suez Canal and Gulf of Oman.
“The United States regards it as a very sensitive region and hopes other countries' warships will not have a very active presence in this region,” Jin said. “The U.S. wants to play as a keeper of the world order.”