A high-ranking official with the National Security Council (NSC) yesterday warned against the unpredictable nature of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), saying he wouldn't be surprised if the PLA would someday use weapons of mass destruction against Taiwan or other friendly nations.
"The term `unrestricted warfare' best describes the PLA's perspective of war ... If someday you find them using weapons of mass destruction, such as biological and chemical weapons, don't be surprised," said Lieutenant General James Liu (
"Any other means -- especially terrorist attacks -- that can harm the enemy, including civilians and civilian facilities, may also be utilized," Liu said. "The PLA adheres to the principle that all means should be employed for the sake of victory in war."
Liu made the remarks as he presented a paper at an international conference on contemporary China in Taipei.
In his presentation, Liu highlighted the unpredictable nature of the PLA, which he suggested would make it hard for any analyst to predict its overall strength in combat.
"The PLA is a unique and complex entity. It will, on the one hand, showcase its most antiquated weapons to the West in an attempt to brush off the China threat theories brewing among Western countries. On the other hand, it will try to convince the targets of its intimidation that it will employ any means to effectively eliminate them," Liu said.
"It would be a mistake to simply describe the PLA as strong or weak. The PLA believes that morality does not apply to war and that any means should be used as long as it contributes to victory. As a result, it has developed `revolutionary warfare,' `asymmetric warfare,' `irregular warfare,' and recently `unrestricted warfare,'" he said.
In response, Andrew Yang (
"Liu's words do not reflect reality. What I understand is that the PLA is still under the control of the CCP. It is true that some medium-ranking officers with the PLA have recently expressed certain discontent over the party leadership's failure to let them do what they want to against Taiwan," Yang said. "But the discontent was soon subdued by the party." A US speaker at the conference mapped out a grim picture for Taiwan 10 years from now as a result of the PLA's continuous modernization.
Donald J. Puchala, a researcher with the US-based Richard L. Walker Institute of International Studies, said that when he was writing the paper several weeks ago, he was informed by defense authorities of the result of a war simulation in the Taiwan Strait in 2010.
"The result was bad for both the US and Taiwan -- the US will not intervene in the armed conflict in the Taiwan Strait militarily," Puchala said.
"Western estimates foresee a Chinese ability to begin shifting the military balance in East Asia taking place somewhere between five years and 20 years from now," he said.
"In the coming 10 to 15 years we are likely to see Chinese operational capabilities significantly enhanced. But their force is not credible at the moment."
Michael Swaine, a senior researcher with the Rand Corporation in the US, who has done significant studies on Taiwan's military, said that it is still quite strong, although there is much room for improvement in areas ranging from inter-service links, integration of software and hardware, and others.
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