From Chinese Press

Overreactions to PLA's exercises unnecessary

(People's Daily Online)
Updated: 2010-08-09 10:21

The reason for that is China's defensive strategy. The Chinese army's strategic tasks included only protecting its own territory and territorial waters, maintaining national interests and finally sustaining regional peace and stability. China never want to be the "world's policeman" nor a "world leader."

What is more, such a big country as China still maintains a relatively low national defense expense. Also, our per capita national defense expense and the military expenditures per soldier are far less than those of Western countries.

Due to all these reasons, the Chinese army is not able to spend much money on increasing frequency of military exercises. The recent scale and frequency is maintained on the lowest level of sustaining battle effectiveness.

Some Western media criticized our military exercises as showing the "high profile" of the Chinese army, which is really too high of a compliment for us. If it's not out of their ignorance, what's their real intentions?

The Chinese army has a very clear strategic orientation and purpose as well as short-term and medium-term development direction.

There are detailed elaborations in China's biennial white book of national defense. The Chinese army is devoted to regional stability and is generally recognized as a significant force of maintaining world peace.

Therefore, no matter whether the comments from outside are negative or positive, the Chinese army will hold military exercises as usual and follow its own plan and arrangement. After all, military exercises are indispensable military activities for the army's modernization. Outsiders should not make too much irresponsible remarks.