China military white paper warns against ‘outside threats of hegemony’
May 26, 2015, 8:11 am

“Some external countries are also busy meddling in South China Sea affairs; a tiny few maintain constant close-in air and sea surveillance and reconnaissance against China,” said the strongly-worded paper [Xinhua]

“China’s Military Strategy” stressed on guarding against “the outside threats of hegemony, power politics and neo-interventionism” in a veiled reference to the US.

“Some external countries are also busy meddling in South China Sea affairs; a tiny few maintain constant close-in air and sea surveillance and reconnaissance against China,” said the strongly-worded paper.

In one of the major highlights of the new security doctrine, the PLA Navy will gradually shift its focus from the sole strategy of “offshore waters defense” to the combined one of “offshore waters defense [and] open seas protection”.

The United States stating last month that the disputed islands, known in Chinese as the Diaoyus and in Japan as Senkaku, are firmly under Japan’s control.

Tensions remain high in the region, with territorial disputes in the South China Sea involving Japan and China.

The United States and Japan unveiled new rules for defense cooperation last month that said Japan could come to the aid of US forces threatened by a third country.

The document, issued by the State Council Information Office, also said China will respond to the evolving form of modern warfare and national security requirements, by focusing on “winning informationized local wars”.

Timed with the release of the white paper was the announcement that China’s Defense Ministry has opened accounts on two leading Chinese social network platforms on Tuesday, Weibo (China’s Twitter) and Wechat, China’s leading SMS app.

China’s white paper released on Tuesday also echoed the Russian position on outer space, saying “China opposes weaponization and arms race in outer space and vowed to secure its space assets”.

TBP