Fighting to Make a Point: Policy-Making by Aggressive War on the Chinese Borders
Abstract
The People's Republic of China (PRC) has twice initiated high-intensity war to accomplish limited political objectives, maintaining proportionality by keeping the wars short and the political objectives paramount. China invaded India in 1962 and, after a month of uninterrupted military success, withdrew its forces and established unchallenged control of a border region that had been under PRC control at the beginning of the war. When China invaded Vietnam across a 450-mile front in 1979, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) performed poorly but achieved several political objectives. These PRC-initiated border wars reflect a different conception of limited war than the United States usually associates with that term. The wars more nearly reflect the relationship between military means and political ends found in the dynastic wars of 18th Century Europe, when a short intense war might be conducted to establish advantage in the next negotiations. Observations about the conduct and character of these wars are important to understanding the PRC approach to war, and might be relevant to future crises between the PRC and Taiwan.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA442329
Entities
People
- Roy C. Pettis Jr.
Organizations
- National War College