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Military must be self-reliant: minister - People's Daily Online December 29, 2010
Liang Guanglie is minister of national defense.
China's military buildup will correspond with the rapidly developing economy and enhanced national power, Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said.
In a recent interview with the Chinese media, Liang also said that China's armed forces could only depend on themselves, not others, to ensure modernization and the development of equipment.
"In the next five years, our economy and society will develop faster, boosting comprehensive national power. The developments will provide an even more stable material base to our defense and military buildup," Liang said at the headquarters of the Chinese military in Beijing.
"We'll take the opportunity and speed up modernization of the military according to plans already made," he said.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has discussed the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), which includes a blueprint for the military buildup, and has left it for approval by the National People's Congress in 2011.
"Without the military of more than two million troops...China will be a weak country. A major aspect of its strong national power, I think, is a strong defense," Liang said.
Despite growing national power and global influence, the international situation remains complex, while more and more unstable factors are shadowing China's security, Liang noted.
Commenting on the world security situation, Liang said a war "which involves the whole country" is impossible at the moment, but there is a possibility that a mishap or accident might ignite regional conflicts.
"To enhance our comprehensive national power, (we have to ensure) our core interests are not hampered. We have to put the nation's sovereignty and security in the top position, that is the common understanding of the whole Party (Communist Party of China) and all the people."
Looking back on the past five years, Liang viewed the period as one of rapid development for the Chinese military that resulted in "historic, huge achievements".
The minister said one example of this is that batches of young officers and soldiers, born in the 1980s and 1990s, are "fearless" and played prominent roles in earthquake and flood relief efforts, even though many are the only child in their families. That reflected the spirit of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), he said.
"The military comes from the people and serves the people. It is incumbent on them to help when the country experiences disasters."
The last five years also saw the military supporting major events including disaster relief, Liang noted.
"It had been rare (for the military) to be involved in such various and frequent tasks that required a large number of personnel in such a short period of time."
The military is also better prepared for any potential conflict, from its training procedures up to its equipment and logistics, according to Liang.
The PLA's capability to engage in modern warfare has also increased sharply and the number of high-quality military personnel is growing, especially those for operations that demand a commanding knowledge of a specific technology, Liang said.
However, "the level of modernization of the Chinese military still lags far behind developed countries," he added.
"We will stand on our own feet to solve the problem and develop our equipment. The modernization of the Chinese military cannot depend on others, and cannot be bought."
He said China has made significant progress in international military exchanges and established them with more than 150 countries and defense and security dialogue with 22 countries.
By Wu Jiao and Li Xiaokun, China Daily
Liang Guanglie is minister of national defense.
China's military buildup will correspond with the rapidly developing economy and enhanced national power, Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said.
In a recent interview with the Chinese media, Liang also said that China's armed forces could only depend on themselves, not others, to ensure modernization and the development of equipment.
"In the next five years, our economy and society will develop faster, boosting comprehensive national power. The developments will provide an even more stable material base to our defense and military buildup," Liang said at the headquarters of the Chinese military in Beijing.
"We'll take the opportunity and speed up modernization of the military according to plans already made," he said.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has discussed the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), which includes a blueprint for the military buildup, and has left it for approval by the National People's Congress in 2011.
"Without the military of more than two million troops...China will be a weak country. A major aspect of its strong national power, I think, is a strong defense," Liang said.
Despite growing national power and global influence, the international situation remains complex, while more and more unstable factors are shadowing China's security, Liang noted.
Commenting on the world security situation, Liang said a war "which involves the whole country" is impossible at the moment, but there is a possibility that a mishap or accident might ignite regional conflicts.
"To enhance our comprehensive national power, (we have to ensure) our core interests are not hampered. We have to put the nation's sovereignty and security in the top position, that is the common understanding of the whole Party (Communist Party of China) and all the people."
Looking back on the past five years, Liang viewed the period as one of rapid development for the Chinese military that resulted in "historic, huge achievements".
The minister said one example of this is that batches of young officers and soldiers, born in the 1980s and 1990s, are "fearless" and played prominent roles in earthquake and flood relief efforts, even though many are the only child in their families. That reflected the spirit of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), he said.
"The military comes from the people and serves the people. It is incumbent on them to help when the country experiences disasters."
The last five years also saw the military supporting major events including disaster relief, Liang noted.
"It had been rare (for the military) to be involved in such various and frequent tasks that required a large number of personnel in such a short period of time."
The military is also better prepared for any potential conflict, from its training procedures up to its equipment and logistics, according to Liang.
The PLA's capability to engage in modern warfare has also increased sharply and the number of high-quality military personnel is growing, especially those for operations that demand a commanding knowledge of a specific technology, Liang said.
However, "the level of modernization of the Chinese military still lags far behind developed countries," he added.
"We will stand on our own feet to solve the problem and develop our equipment. The modernization of the Chinese military cannot depend on others, and cannot be bought."
He said China has made significant progress in international military exchanges and established them with more than 150 countries and defense and security dialogue with 22 countries.
By Wu Jiao and Li Xiaokun, China Daily
