“The U.S. wants to be number one, but China doesn’t want to be number two!” That was how Indian academic Deba Mohanty characterized the shifting strategic dynamics, at Monday’s Asia Pacific Security Conference (APSEC) here in Singapore.
At the same time, two reports for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned U.S. policymakers that China’s military has indeed become a force to be reckoned with. One report concluded that “since the reforms of 1998, the Chinese defense industries have undergone a dramatic and successful transformation, surpassing the expectations of even the most forward-leaning analyst.” The other issued the starkest warning yet of the threat to Taiwan’s autonomy posed by China’s deployment of ballistic and cruise missiles. Taiwan’s continued de facto independence hinders China’s emergence as a regional power since it limits the PLA’s strategic space, this report said.
