USE OF MILITARY IN DISPUTES CAUSING ECONOMIC SHOCK IN CHINA

Under the prodding of the generals within the Central Military Commission, China has brushed aside the lawful claims over territories and waters of countries ranging from Vietnam to the Philippines to India.

The founder of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong, was clear that the (Chinese Communist) Party controlled the gun (i.e. the armed forces). Over the past 16 years, this dictum seems to have steadily been reversed, with the

CCP more and more adopting policies favoured by the PLA rather than the other way around. The consequence of the adoption of the short-term and aggressive stance favoured by the PLA generals towards ASEAN, India, Taiwan and even the US has resulted in a coming together of these countries in the face of such behaviour by China. The country was developed into an economic superpower by Deng Xiaoping, who never repeated the decision made in 1979 to use the military to try and settle a dispute, this time with Vietnam. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had its reins loosened during the period in office of Hu Jintao (2002-12), and this policy of giving leeway to the military has been strengthened under General Secretary Xi Jinping, who took over the leadership of the party and the country in 2012. Under the prodding of the generals within the Central Military Commission, China has brushed aside the lawful claims over territories and waters of countries ranging from Vietnam to the Philippines

to India. Although far from the shores of the People’s Republic of China, the entirety of the South China Sea is being claimed by Beijing, with artificial islands getting constructed and military outposts set up to enforce a claim set aside by UN bodies and almost the whole of the international community, barring a few countries such as Pakistan. As a consequence, even so pro-china a leader as President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has ensured that his Navy join the RIMPAC exercises this year, while Vietnam is reviewing its policy of not permitting linkages with foreign militaries.

A treaty between India and Vietnam for both militaries to

People exercise in a park, amidst the spread of Covid-19 in Mumbai, on Thursday. access each other’s facilities may be an idea whose time has come. Similar treaties could be signed by Vietnam later, with the US and Australia in the first instance. Across the South China Sea, this Pla-inspired policy has resulted in a stoppage of several projects of ASEAN and other countries to exploit the mineral wealth of the waters of the region. Such projects need to be resumed with protection ensured by the Quad fleet present in the waters.

It was US President Donald J. Trump who fired the first salvo against the CCP policy of the gun controlling the policy of the party, by initiating a trade war in 2017 that has