Panda Hedging: Pentagon Report Urges New Strategy for China

Publication Date: May 2006

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): John J. Tkacik

Research Area: Military and defense

Keywords: Asia and the Pacific; panda

Type: Brief

Coverage: China

Abstract:

The Pentagon's fifth annual "Report on the Military Power of the People's Republic of China" was sent to Congress this week. Even more than its predecessors, this year's report is unsettling, with myriad disturbing revelations: the military balance across the Taiwan Strait has now tipped in China's favor; China's military doctrine appears to view Taiwan as a stepping stone to a broader and farther reaching strategic presence in the Western Pacific; China's military has made major advances in strategic weapons; the Chinese military is in the midst of a debate on a new, more threatening nuclear doctrine; and China is far from behaving as a responsible stakeholder in the global community. As the new report confirms, "hedging" has become the watchword in China relations in Washington. It's about time.