One of the lessons China’s military has seemingly learnt from recent wars is that technological sophistication is the sine qua non for effective military operations in the contemporary strategic environment. Since 2003, the world’s biggest standing army has been gradually shrinking and has been reduced to 2.3 million soldiers, with spending now focused on better training and advanced state-of-the-art weaponry. China intends to reach the strategic goal of building informationised armed forces and being capable of winning informationised wars by the mid-21st century.

While not mentioning the US by name, the paper makes a comparison between the present superpower and the emerging one. In contrast to a unilateralist America that apparently seeks to enfeeble China “by supporting diplomatic struggles with military means,” China itself, according to the latest document, “will never seek hegemony or engage in military expansion now or in the future, no matter how developed it becomes.” Interestingly, the paper underlines growing Chinese unease about changing policies of the US in Asia suggesting that “the US has increased its strategic attention to and input in the Asia-Pacific region, further consolidating its military alliances, adjusting its military deployment and enhancing its military capabilities.” 

India needs to urgently review its defence preparedness vis-à-vis China. As the policy paralysis post- Mumbai has revealed, we seem to have lost our conventional superiority vis-à-vis Pakistan. The real challenge for India, however, lies in China’s rise as military power. If the latest white paper is any indication, China already views itself as a superpower-in-waiting and despite all the lofty pronouncements, a Chinese hegemony in the region will adversely impact upon Indian interests. The Indian government owes it to the nation to set this imbalance right.  

... contd.