Comment: Summary of China’s military hot spots of 2012

Hot spot A: Formation of new CMC leadership

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was successfully held in 2012 in which the new leadership of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the CPC was established. What is its effect on the long-term development of China's national defense and army building cause?

Jin Yi'nan, head of the Strategic Research Institute of the Strategic Teaching and Research Department of the National Defense University (NDU) held that the adjustment of military leading organization of a country is actually an inevitable step in its military modernization process. After the 18th CPC National Congress, the Chinese military realized the handover between the new and the old CMC leaderships, and a number of new CMC leaders came into power. The perspectives and experiences of these new CMC leaders are certainly different. In particular, Xu Qiliang, former commander of the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) who is now appointed as the vice chairman of the CMC, transforms from the commander of a military service to one of the chief leaders of the CMC. It actually indicates that the PLA, a military traditionally focusing on its ground force, will take the direction of integration of their three services in a real sense. This is an apparent signal that the Chinese military's pace toward the modernization differs from those in the past.

Hot spot B: Commissioning of China's first aircraft carrier and successful take-off/landing of carrier-borne J-15 fighters

The handover of the "Liaoning" ship, China's first aircraft carrier, to the PLA Navy was formally held on September 25, 2012. The take-off/landing test on the "Liaoning" aircraft carrier by the carrier-borne fighters was successfully completed two months later. China has made several great progresses in the weapons and equipment field in its national defense and military building in 2012. What is the significance of these progresses?

Jin Yi'nan held that China completed the aircraft carrier renovation, constructed it into China's first aircraft carrier and successfully carried out the take-off/landing test of the carrier-borne fighters against the all-round blockade from the western countries. This is no doubt a major leap forward.

Although China bought an old aircraft carrier, China's technologies achieved major upgrading during the renovation of the aircraft carrier. Although it is a training ship, it boasts important significance. The take-off/landing test of the carrier-borne fighters was successfully conducted two months after the commissioning of the aircraft carrier. It's worth noticing that the pilots of China's carrier-borne fighters are all self-cultivated, which marks a very great leap forward.

Hot spot C: Founding of China's Sansha city

China faced severe challenges and threats in safeguarding its sovereignty, territorial integrity and maritime rights and interests in 2012, as evidenced by the disputes over the Diaoyu Islands between China and Japan and the standoffs over the Huangyan Islands between China and the Philippines. Facing these threats and challenges, China gave tit for tat and took a series of measures to safeguard its national interests. For example, the Sansha city, China's youngest city, was set up on July 24, 2012 and the Sansha Garrison of the PLA was also organized and established accordingly. At the same time, China's maritime surveillance and fishery departments strengthened their rights-protection escort and patrol missions in the waters near the Diaoyu Islands and realized normalized alternating patrols. What is the enlightenment of these rights-protection actions?

Jin Yi'nan held that these rights-protection actions bring a good enlightenment, i.e. it is impossible to achieve the goal by relying on kindness only. China planned to set up the Sansha city long time ago, but was very restrained in consideration of the reactions from various parties especially Vietnam. What is the final result? Vietnam took the lead to declare its Law of the Sea and delimited all of China's Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha into Vietnam's marine territory range. Under such circumstance, China's setting up of Sansha city was actually a passive reaction.

Many people including Americans said that China's setting up of Sansha city is an expression to advance to the South China Sea. We answered "no". China's setting up of Sansha city is still a defensive measure to safeguard China's national sovereignty.

China's reactions are passive ones on not only the Diaoyu Islands disputes, but also the standoff incident of the Huangyan Islands. Under the conditions that other countries' actions severely challenged China's national sovereignty and China's preset guideline of jointly developing the disputed areas were completely discarded by other parties, China had no other choice but to do so.

These actions actually made China's rights-protection in the South China Sea and the East China Sea a great pace forward. Especially, China declared the territorial sea baselines of the Diaoyu Islands on September 10, 2012, and the maritime surveillance ships of China's State Oceanic Administration entered the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea of the 24-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone of the Diaoyu Islands on September 14, 2012, making major progress in safeguarding China's rights and interests over the Dianyu Islands.

Hot spot D: Normalized PLA Navy open-sea training indicating Chinese military's inevitable trend toward modernization

The taskforce of the East China Sea Fleet under the PLA Navy entered the west Pacific Ocean for open-sea training from the end of November to mid-December of 2012. The PLA Navy gradually realized normalized open-sea training in recent years. What is the significance of such normalization for building a blue-water navy?

Jin Yi'nan held that China is now the second largest country in economy in the world today. It is very abnormal if China's naval ships always stay at its homeports without any decent action, and it will allow some people to perceive that the navy of the country with the second largest economy in the world is unable to effectively safeguard its national interests and doubt China's ability to safeguard its own rights and interests. In addition, it is fully legitimate and undisputed for the PLA naval ships to cruise in the waters of China's jurisdiction. China never infringe on the marine rights and interests of other countries.