Living with the Dragon: China's Ascent and the ROK-US Alliance

Abstract

China's extraordinary economic success also has enabled an extensive military build-up. Despite Chinese public pronouncements that China pursues peaceful development and growth, the United States and other regional countries worry about China's military modernization. The Pentagon's Congressional report on China's military power triggered alarms that China is rapidly building up military strength and thus poses a security threat in Northeast Asia. The lack of transparency of China's military expenditures and the ambiguity of its strategy and goals may put regional military balances at risk and could prompt an arms race. Understanding the Chinese military strategy and its modernization is the key to preparing for future threats in the region. This paper reviews China's defense policy, military strategy, and current modernization efforts. The author recommends a ROK-U.S.-Japan alliance and a broader 6-Party Northeast Asia security cooperation system as ways to enhance the region's future stability.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 31, 2008
Accession Number
ADA479614

Entities

People

  • Byung H. Choi

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Alliances
  • Civilian Personnel
  • Education
  • Governments
  • International Organizations
  • Military Budgets
  • Military Education
  • Military Exercises
  • Military Modernization
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Natural Resources
  • Navies (Foreign)
  • United States
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.