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Report shows China military expanding

"It was all due to the ... Gulf War, during which US troops utilized high-tech weapons and equipment to gain absolute superiority over the Iraqi army. The PLA leadership was obviously astounded by it ... The recent US congressional report on PLA progress shows that its own modernization efforts are being internationally noted and recognized. The development is good for the PLA, but not for Taiwan."

Keven Cheng, editor-in-chief of Defense International magazine

China's military has rapidly advanced its joint-force operations to secure a permanent presence in the Indo-China peninsula, according to a recent US congressional report.

The PLA, China's military, showcased the significant progress in its joint-forces during a series of large-scale but low-key exercises between July and August in the Nanjing Military Region facing Taiwan, the report said.

In the exercises, "China demonstrates significant new joint-service war-fighting skills `under high-tech conditions' that are steadily altering the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait," it said.

The observation is based on joint maneuvers between naval, air force, marine infantry, paratroop, armed and missile units of the PLA.

Entitled "China's New Fighting Skills: emerging threats to the US, India, Taiwan, and the Asia-Pacific region," the report was delivered to Congress late last week. It was researched on the basis of a two-week investigative trip to Taiwan and South Asia from Aug. 14 to Aug. 16 by Al Santoli, who is a national security aide to a US congressman.

A high-ranking defense official, whom Santolini had consulted during his stay in Taiwan, told the Taipei Times the most impressive thing about the PLA's recent progress is in the communication as well as command-and-control areas.

Quoting a Taiwan defense official off the record, Santoli says: "Taiwan is particularly impressed with the PLA's rapid advances in utilizing a national `plug-and-play' fiber-optic civilian telecom network to thoroughly secure its military communications."

"At the same time, Taiwan believes its current military information system is relatively easy for the PLA to monitor. Taiwan believes its forces have fallen behind the PLA in that important command-and-control area, which could lead to their defeat," Santoli said.

Commenting on PLA progress, a local military analyst said, "China's telecommunication industry is indeed developing at a faster speed than Taiwan's ... It is not surprising that the PLA has achieved significant advances in communication and related command-and-control areas since it has been making efforts in that direction for nearly 10 years," said Keven Cheng (鄭繼文), editor-in-chief of Defense International magazine.

"It was all due to the 1990 to 1991 Gulf War, during which US troops utilized high-tech weapons and equipment to gain absolute superiority over the Iraqi army. The PLA leadership was obviously astounded by it," Cheng said.

"The recent US congressional report on PLA progress shows that its own modernization efforts are being internationally noted and recognized. The development is good for the PLA, but not for Taiwan," he said.

Santoli also highlights in his report China's expansion of its military presence in the Indo-China peninsula as part of its efforts to "further its strategic goals" in Asia.

He singles out Myanmar (Burma) as the country in the region where China has secured an initial military presence by holding exercises with Myanmar forces and establishing military facilities in the territory.

"During August, Chinese military advisory teams oversaw air-land-sea-communications exercises by forces of the SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) military junta of Myanmar, along the coast of the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, some 300 nautical miles from India, and within 350 miles [560km] of the strategic Straits of Malacca," Santoli says in his report.

China has also set up electronic surveillance stations on the Coco islands off the Myanmar coast to monitor the Indian Ocean, the report says.

An intelligence source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Santoli report had not mentioned the fact that besides the Coco islands, China has obtained two other islets from the SLORC government.

"Intelligence information shows China is building military facilities on the two islets, which are uninhabited but rich in natural resources such as iron ore," the source said.

"The SLORC government must have given the two islets to China in return for the annual financial aid it gets from Beijing."

"China's ownership of the two islets has sparked strong protests from India, which suspects China has ulterior motives. The Indian government is, apparently, seeking for help from the US in the matter," he said.

"India has reason to suspect every move that is made by China in the region. But Taiwan should also worry about China finding a foothold on seas so close to passages taken by oil tankers from the Middle East to East Asia," he said.

"With the two SLORC-given islets as bases, the Chinese military can choose to block Taiwan's oil tankers from passing through the Straits of Malacca at any time it likes," the intelligence source said.

He praised the Santoli report for calling attention to the potential military threat of China to its surrounding countries, framed in a larger geo-political context, but he said it was a pity the China-SLORC agreement had been brushed over.

He said Santoli over-emphasized the power struggle within SLORC, without seeming to realize that SLORC members were successful at keeping power between themselves.

The report emphasizes the power struggle between Brigadier General Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the Myanmar military junta, and army chief Brigadier General Maung Aye, to succeed General Tan Shwe as junta supreme leader.

"This is based on a misunderstanding of the power structure of the junta. As the first secretary of the junta, Khin Nyunt is already the most powerful man in the country. He does not need to fight with Maung Aye for the figure-head position. He has secured power largely because it was given to him in trust by the former leader of Burma, Ne Win -- who is widely suspected to still manipulate local politics from behind the curtain," the intelligence source said.
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