China's PLA to add diplomacy to its repertoire

QINGDAO (CHINA): The powerful People's Liberation Army (PLA) is stepping out to add diplomacy to its repertoire. Just this month, the PLA navy's North Sea Fleet, based in Qingdao, Shandong province, sent destroyers and frigates to sail around the Japanese archipelago in a show of strength. Almost at the same time, the same navy was conducting the biggest ever joint exercises with Russia in the Sea of Japan as a response to US-Japan navy drills. 

Last week, speaking to Indian journalists, the brass of the North Sea Fleet offered to cooperate with the Indian Navy to work on joint escort missions in the Gulf of Aden. "We have a good understanding of how the Indian Navy works," said Rear Admiral Wang Ling. Wang stated the Chinese military presence in the South China Sea was "normal" but that the territorial disputes should be resolved through bilateral diplomacy. On Japan, there was no-holds-barred hostility - "the Diaoyu islands (Japan calls them Senkaku) belong to China and Japan is responsible for the tensions there," he said. 

As the fastest growing military of a country billed as the world's next superpower, the PLA and its institutions - think tanks, propaganda machinery, etc, are stepping out of the shadows to show that this arm of the Chinese state reporting directly to the all-important Central Military Commission ( CMC) is in the forefront of crafting China's foreign and defence policies. It is headed by President Xi Jinping and is his most important responsibility. In the past few years, the Chinese military, on a massive expansion and modernization spree, has been the source of growing regional apprehension about China's intentions in the region. As China's power has grown, it has stepped out more forcefully to claim territory in its periphery based on historical claims, eschewing international forums, preferring to deal bilaterally with smaller countries like Philippines and Vietnam, where China could use a variety of tools to get its way. Both South and East China Seas are buzzing with disquiet. 

In the Himalayas, where China and India share an undefined boundary, recent incursions, aggressive patrolling (by both sides) and improved infrastructure has added to the general sense that China's power is more aggressive than comfortable. Meanwhile, making India more nervous, China and Pakistan have decided to build a railroad connecting Xinjiang's Kashgar and Gwadar Port located on the Arabian Sea, presenting what India believes to be a direct threat to its security interests. 

China has also stepped out in the international arena for more peace-keeping missions, as well as escort missions for ships in the northern Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. "Since December 2008, we have organized over 5,000 escort missions," said Cai Weidong at the Chinese ministry of defence. "If we don't contribute, we are questioned, but when we did send our ships to the Gulf of Aden, countries like Japan and India protested." Indian officials flatly denied ever protesting Chinese missions in that area.