Interview: China’s Military Diplomacy in past 5 years

[Lankan Ranger]

Interview: China’s Military Diplomacy in past 5 years

Recently, the PLA Daily made an exclusive interview with Qian Lihua, director-general of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of National Defense, on the characteristics and trend of China’s military diplomacy during the 11th Five-year Plan period (2006-2010).

Constant deepening of military ties with foreign countries has enriched the connotation of Sino-foreign relations

PLA Daily: How about the current landscape of the military contacts between China and foreign countries?

Qian: During the 11th Five-year Plan period, the foreign exchanges between the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the foreign armed forces have witnessed constant expansion with more objects, wider fields and greater depth, forming an all-dimensional, multi-tiered and wide-ranging landscape.

Up to the present, the People’s Republic of China has established military relations with 150-plus countries and set up the Military Attache Offices in 112 countries while 102 countries have set up their Military Attache Offices in China.

Chinese PLA dispatches about 170-plus military delegations to visit foreign countries and receives 200-plus foreign military delegations every year.

The PLA’s military diplomacy covers multiple fields including high-level contacts, exchange of professional technologies, military aids, personnel training, joint exercise and training, exchange of military culture and sports, international arms control and public diplomacy and involves the general headquarters/departments, arms and services and military area commands of the PLA.

During the 11th Five-year Plan period, the PLA also strengthened the military exchanges with major powers for the purpose of maintaining the strategic stability of the world. It also deepened the mutual-trust and collaboration with the armed forces of neighboring countries to create a good neighboring environment.

At the same time, the PLA solidified its traditional friendship with the militaries of developing countries to boost friendly reciprocal cooperation. Furthermore, the PLA actively participated in multi-lateral security dialogues and cooperation to expand its influence in the world.

PLA Daily: Among the various fields of foreign military contacts, which field plays the leading role?

Qian: High-level contacts, as an important aspect of military diplomacy, play the role of leading the development of military relations. In the past two years, the high-level military delegations of the Chinese PLA visited 40-plus countries while defense ministers and chiefs of general staff of 60-plus countries paid their visits to China.

During the exchange of visits, leaders of the Central Military Commission and the PLA general headquarters/departments exchanged views in a candid and in-depth way with leaders of the defense departments and the militaries of foreign countries on issues including international and regional situations, the relations between two militaries and important programs of bi-lateral exchange and co-operation, reaching extensive and substantial consensus, enhancing military mutual trust and strengthening pragmatic cooperation.

High-level military contacts are communications at the strategic level and important measures of implementing the strategic consensus reached by state leaders and play indispensable role for publicizing the guidelines and policies of the government, ascertaining the framework for pragmatic cooperation and guiding the development of military relations.

PLA Daily: What’s the role of military diplomacy in serving the overall national diplomacy and safeguarding national interests?

Qian: Military diplomacy is a strategic means of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interest and the in-depth reflection of the strategic mutual-trust and cooperative level between Chinese and foreign parties.

Practices show that active and pragmatic military diplomacy has enriched the connotation of the foreign relations, cemented and deepened China’s cooperation in defense and security with other countries and played a unique role in creating a good external environment for China’s development.

National interest is the highest principle of diplomatic work and the basic guideline for carrying out military contacts. Over the past years, on issues involving Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang, the unique resources and advantages of military diplomacy have got fully development, the national sovereignty was safeguarded, and the overall situation of political diplomacy was strongly supported.

At the time of attending negotiations on international arms control, PLA representatives have not only seriously implemented relevant international protocols with a view to maintain world peace and stability, but given fully consideration to China’s realistic security demand to unswervingly safeguard national security interests.

 

[Lankan Ranger]

PLA Daily: Currently, the international community shows great concern over China. Some countries have misunderstanding on the PLA and some even spread the “China military threat theory” now and then. What are the counter measures that the China’s military diplomacy adopts?

Qian: Military diplomacy is an important window for the world to understand the PLA. The PLA has dozens of troop units and academies that are open to foreigners and receive 100-plus foreign visiting military delegations every year. Especially, the PLA has opened such important military departments as the Headquarters of the PLA Second Artillery Force to foreign senior military delegations.

In 2009, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the PLA Navy and the PLA Air Force, the PLA Navy held a multinational naval activity themed as “Harmonious Ocean” and the PLA Air Force held the “International Forum on Peace and Development”.

Through the press release of the news spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China and inviting foreign media to visit and interview the PLA Beijing Garrison, the PLA peacekeeping troops and the international rescue team, the policy and stand of the PLA were expounded and made clear.

At the same time, the PLA actively goes abroad to expound the Chinese military to the world. The leaders of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the PLA general headquarters/departments took the opportunities of their visits to give speeches at the think tanks and military academies of foreign countries and receive interviews of foreign media to expound China’s defense policy defensive in nature and the modernization drive of the Chinese military.

The PLA Navy carried out extensive exchanges with foreign naval officers and men as well as ordinary people in combination with the inter-visits of warships. Moreover, the PLA introduces China’s outstanding military culture through organizing large-size military culture and sports groups or delegations to participate in contests and performances abroad.

Through the above-mentioned actions of the Chinese military, people of insight of the world should see the sincerity of China’s peaceful development. Of course, for the distortion and smear of those having ulterior motives, we will give out our voice and clearly show out our solemn and just stand in first time through the press release of the news spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense and press conference.

China is determined to take the road of peaceful development and the international image of the PLA is sure to be constantly uplifted.

 

[Lankan Ranger]

PLA Daily: The PLA held several joint trainings with foreign militaries in November this year. What about the overall situation of the joint exercises and joint trainings between the Chinese military and the foreign militaries in the 11th Five-year Plan period? What role did these joint exercises and joint trainings play in promoting the construction of the PLA?

Qian: The joint exercises and joint trainings between the Chinese military and the foreign militaries are innovative practices of the military diplomacy in serving PLA’s modernization drive in the new period. The 11th Five-year Plan period is a period for the rapid development and gradual normalization of joint exercises and joint trainings between the Chinese military and the foreign militaries. Of the 44 joint exercises and joint trainings held by the PLA and the foreign militaries, 32 were held in the 11th Five-year Plan period.

The joint anti-terror military exercise within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has shown an institutionalized development, the maritime joint exercises held in combination with the inter-visits of warships have realized normalization and the ground joint trainings were carried out extensively.

These activities are expanding to such fields as anti-terrorism, peacekeeping, search and rescue, security and medical service. The joint exercises and joint trainings between the Chinese military and the foreign militaries played a positive role in promoting the overall building of the PLA and improving the real combat capability of the troops while achieving the political and diplomatic goals of the state.

The troop units participated in the joint exercises and joint trainings all said that they had reaped a lot from the joint exercises and joint trainings and the exchanges in skills and tactics were especially beneficial to them.

PLA Daily: What else the military diplomacy did in promoting PLA’s modernization drive?

Qian: In the 11th Five-year Plan period, in view of effectively implementing the historical mission of the PLA, relevant functional departments of the PLA general headquarters/departments carried out external exchanges extensively by centering on such issues as military training, logistic support, equipment construction, cultivation of military talents and military theory and obtained good effect.

20-plus PLA academies have established partnership relations with foreign academies, hundreds of PLA experts and professors carried out military academic exchanges in foreign academies and hundreds of young and middle-aged PLA officers went to foreign countries for visit and study. The PLA also dispatched 1,200-plus military students to study in nearly 100 military academies of 30-plus countries.

 

[Lankan Ranger]

PLA Daily: From the dialectical point of view, the Sino-foreign military exchanges can not only promote the building of the PLA, but have particular influence on the militaries of other countries and even the world peace. What’s your opinion on this?

Qian: The Sino-foreign military exchanges are based on equality, mutual benefit, cooperation and win-win. Talking about this, I’d like to especially mention the “Peace Ark” hospital ship which implemented the “Harmony Mission 2010”.

Similar to the great voyage of Zheng He who brought peace and cooperation to the West in ancient China, the “Peace Ark” hospital ship brought health, spread peace and seeded friendship to the peoples of the five Asian and African countries.

Taking “Harmony Mission 2010” as the example, the PLA has actively fulfilled the international security responsibilities and obligations in the 11th Five-year Plan period, which has strongly promoted the building of a harmonious world. Since 2006, China has dispatched 13,000 persons/times of peacekeeping officers and men to participate in 13 peacekeeping operations of the United Nations (UN).

Currently, China is the country sending peacekeeping troops most in number among the permanent member states of the UN Security Council. The Chinese PLA also sent professional strength to participate in international disaster rescue operations for many times and assisted the Chinese government to offer 500 million yuan worth humanitarian rescue materials to 12 disaster-suffering countries, winning wide commendations both at home and abroad.

In January this year, the medical care, epidemic prevention and rescue team was sent to Haiti to participate in the earthquake relief in the name of the PLA for the first time. In September this year, the PLA sent a medical rescue team and a helicopter rescue team to Pakistan to participate in flood-fighting and emergency rescue.

The PLA also organized mine-sweeping trainings for and equipment assistance to 10-plus countries suffering from landmines including Afghanistan, Sri-Lanka, Iraq and Sudan, which has greatly promoted regional peace and security. Since late 2008, the PLA Navy has sent 7 naval escort taskforces to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast to offer escort for 3,000-plus Chinese and foreign merchant ships.

In a word, China has shown its aspiration of taking the road of peaceful development and promoting a harmonious world with its own actions.

Interview: Splendor of China?s military diplomacy in past 5 years