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This Can Be Taken To Include The Us. (washington Post July 23, 2005). Yee And ...

This can be taken to include the US. (Washington Post July 23, 2005).
Yee and Storey suggest that there are a number of contributing factors to the belief that China is gradually attempting to extend its influence in the region 1)its territorial disputes with other countries in the region have intensified, 2) its rapid economic development has accelerated its military modernisation process and 3) China has elevated re-unification with Taiwan as a higher priority following the successful retrocession of Hong Kong in 1997 and Macau in 1999(Yee and Storey, p4). These factors can be interpreted as evidence of strategic expansion in the region, with territorial claims on the islets in the South China Sea being seen in particular by China's neighbours as a sign of a policy of expansion. The hard-line policy on Taiwan and the refusal to abandon the threat of military force against it is also seen as evidence of an aggressive state. As Harry Harding writes:
the rest of the world has viewed the prospect of a Greater China with both fascination and alarm. Some see it in benign terms, as a dynamic common market that provides growing opportunities for trade and investment. More frequently, however, there has been concern that the combination of economic and military resources available to China will pose a significant threat to the commercial vitality and the strategic stability o the rest of the region (Yee and Storey p4).
There is certainly evidence that China is building up its military capability to the point where it could at least challenge the US in the region. Whilst Kennedy had written in 1989 that China's army is strong numerically but woefully under equipped in modern instruments of war (Kennedy 1989, p577), more recently China has bolstered its naval, submarine and cruise missile capabilities, is in the process of purchasing advanced aircraft systems and is building a nuclear missile arsenal that is capable of striking virtually all of the United States (Washington Post, July 23, 2005).
Whilst much has been made of Chinese reforms since 1979 since in terms of economic growth, it is important to realise that there have been great efforts made to reorganise the military from the early 1980s onwards. Plans were put in place to reduce the People's Liberation Army from 4.2 million to 3 millions (Kennedy 1989, p579) and develop a much more professional force with a higher quality of personnel.
In 2000, the total estimated strength of the Chinese military was 2.5 million, of which an estimated 1.8 million are ground forces (www.comw.org). The overall strategy for the PLA is an overall reduction and reorganisation of both equipment and personnel with a view to creating a more modern and mobile army.
In terms of equipment, China falls a long way behind the US military but is looking to modernise.


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