Operation Allied Force: The View from Beijing
Abstract
This article addresses China's perspective on several key issues involving the U.S. Air Force and NATO with regard to Operation Allied Force in the Balkans conflict, particularly the bombing of the Chinese Embassy. Coming from open sources, this perspective is particularly important today because China remains a country of great importance, not only to Asian but also world economic stability and security. The evolution in war fighting from the Gulf War to the Kosovo conflict impressed upon the Chinese the increasing role of precision strike and space-supported information operations in asymmetric warfare. It also showed them how their country stacks up to the West in terms of technological military strength. What the Chinese lack in technology they intend to offset by keying on enemy vulnerabilities. The message is clear that to better appreciate future East-West relations, we must pay close attention to how China views the recent Balkans situation. The article examines Chinese open source information to determine Chinese views on six topics: American political purposes in launching the air campaign, Implications of Allied Force for future warfare, Information operations before and during the campaign, NATO's mistakes and weaknesses as revealed by Allied Force, Bombing of the Chinese Embassy, and Allied Force's lessons for China.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA517058
Entities
People
- James D. Perry
Organizations
- Air and Space Power Journal