August 1st is an auspicious day in China. No, it doesn't mark any great revolution or act of defiance of government. However, in a world where all things government and party still rule supreme, August 1st is a very important day for the leadership of this country. In 1927 when the Communist Party of China was still in its infancy, a group of armed members -- on August 1st -- fired the first potshot at the Kuomintang forces. Here in China, this is dubbed the launch of the People's Liberation Army.
Of course, back then, the PLA consisted of a rag-tag group of armed men (many of them only armed with broadswords and spears, because there wasn't enough guns to go around) who roamed in the areas south of the Yangtze River trying to avoid being snuffed out by either government troops or the armed men who were also roaming the areas under the charge of local warlords. Of course, in today's China under Communist rule, the exploits of this group of would-be soldiers is hailed as revolutionary and a great feat of man. Admittedly, one really has to be amazed that a small group of anti-government 'bandits' -- as they were then described by the Kuomintang -- were able to survive. This, of course, is attributed to the superb leadership of the Communist forces, who, at a much later point, were led by Mao Zedong. The treacherous and, more often than not, fatal Long March is also dubbed as the turning point for the Communist forces, known at this point in history as the Chinese Red Army. More often than not in today's China, the fact that only 7,000 of the original 86,000 Long Marchers actually survived it is generally added as a footnote to the heroics of the Red Army. And while I'll give the Red Army credit for striking when the time was right, the fact that they eventually drove the Kuomintang to Taiwan and eventually took over the entire country really can't be tacked up to any brilliant military maneuvering. After Japan was defeated in World War II and the civil war broke out again here in China, this country was reeling from being under foreign occupation. The Kuomintang troops, who did the majority of the fighting against the Japanese because the Communist forces were small and mostly trapped behind enemy lines, were war-weary and didn't want to fight any longer. This, combined with the hyper-inflation plaguing China at the time and a general distrust of Chiang Kai-Shek's regime, pushed a lot of locals to side with anyone who was against the current ruling government. All of these issues are overlooked in China today. China has selectively forgotten its history when it comes to the development of its military. And the same is happening today.
In 2007, the Chinese government's official figures put military spending for this year at 44.98 billion US dollars, a 17.8 percent rise in spending from 2006. The government's line in justifying this move is that it needs to increase the salaries for its troops, increase its border defense and buy their men and women new uniforms. Ok, fair enough. I don't think even the Bush administration could argue with its own mantra of 'support our troops.' And the Chinese government is also quick to point out that its military spending is about one-tenth of what the US government pours into its military. Again, fair enough. However, this raises two questions in my mind: Why does China have to compete with the US when it comes to military size and strength? And why should a country that still considers itself as a developing nation have military spending now virtually on par with developed nations such as the United Kingdom and France? I have yet to see the analysis done to compare the per-capita incomes of the people in a country compared to its government spending on the military. If there is such an analysis, I'm sure North Korea is at the top of the list. But I bet China wouldn't be too far behind.
So why does a country and a military who, in it's own spin, has never taken an offensive role in attacking another country (they selectively forget the border clashes with Russia, Vietnam and India) need to be so large and have so much money spent on it? Who is threatening to territorial integrity of China? The days of the Cold War are over. Russia isn't considering toppling the communist leadership anymore. The US doesn't have a presence in Vietnam anymore. The border dispute with India is being cleared up through negotiation. So what's the issue? I can sum it up in one word: Pride.
For as long as this country as existed, it has considered itself the center of the world. Hence the name of China in Chinese: 中国 (Zhong Guo, or Middle Kingdom). As such, whenever it is given the opportunity to flex its muscles and show the world just how well it can compete on the global scale, it will do so. This permeates through all aspects of society. Is it wrong to be proud of your country and all its great aspects? No, of course not. But at the same time, throwing billions upon billions of Yuan at a military that doesn't really do much doesn't really make fiscal sense.
Is China a military threat? Only to Taiwan. Is China angling to become the next global superpower? If so, it's going to have to pack a tent and pillow and be prepared to wait in line for quite a while, because, despite its setbacks, the United States of America -- even with George W. Bush at the helm -- is still the most powerful nation on earth, and isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
