 |
|
| PLA seeks new leap forward |
| CCTV.COM 2003-08-01 13:08:50 |
|
Today marks the 76th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, known as the PLA. The modernization of the PLA has once again been put under the spotlight. Chinese military officials are calling for an upgrade in their military thinking and military weaponry to better adapt to a new strategy for dealing with situations far from China's borders.
For ages, one of the obvious advantages of the Chinese People's Liberation Army has been its sheer numbers. But the ongoing high－tech revolution in global military affairs has helped to change this idea. Now, the PLA is determined to press for even higher quality troops, rather than putting its emphasis on sheer numbers alone.
Military Analyst Gen. Pan Zhengqiang, said, "I can't say that the PLA is the most advanced forces in the world. Compared with most developed forces, the PLA has big gap （lags far behind）. We have to admit that. But on the other hand, we should not underestimate PLA's capability to perform the basic mission to protect its （China's） sovereignty, territorial integrity."
China's defense budget has seen steady increases over the past years. But the PLA's defense expenditures, as well as the proportion of these expenditures to the country's GDP, are much lower than other major military powers in the world. Despite the notable economic success here, military modernization has proved elusive. Some experts point out that China is far from becoming a global military power and that it remains decades behind the world's most advanced military technology.
" The PLA has glorious past, however, these might be outdated burdens in the military build－up in the future. So, how to adopt to new situation, and try to eliminate all these shortcomings is a huge challenge before us," Pan said.
The Iraq war has further pushed the PLA to borrow from the experience and lessons gained from the new military developments in the world. Chinese military officials have vowed to speed up its transformation, from traditional fighting forces to a more modern, hi－tech military force, taking advantage of advances in an information－based age.
In a speech after the Iraq war, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the PLA, Xiong Guangkai, said modernization has been vastly expanding information technology and electronics capacity in all military units, as well as dimensions. He pointed out that IT superiority determines battlefield superiority. And he stressed that the PLA needs to catch up fast.
Xiong said, "China should not simply copy the format from other countries, like the United States. The current status is that the PLA is in the process of development from a semi－mechanization to a full－fledged mechanization. There will be a long way to go to leap frog the advanced standards in digitization and other IT－related gaols, together with mechanization."
The PLA's new objectives have been highlighted by top military officials. At a recent Politburo meeting of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, President Hu Jintao, who is also Vice－Chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for the boosting of the PLA's high－tech weaponry, especially in the areas of information technology and electronic capability. He called these sectors a "major contributor to new transformations in the world's armies." The PLA aims to finish the transformation by the middle of this century.
It's been said that China is planning to push forward further structural reforms in the next few years. It's aiming to significantly streamline and reduce the number of armed forces for the third time since the mid－1980's. China's military leaders hope these bold steps will help to restructure one of the world's largest standing armed forces into a modern one. This is only the beginning of a series of changes that will transform the PLA for years to come.
|
|
Editor: Xiao Wei CCTV.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
