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April 18th, 2024 | 7:43 PM ET

China’s Military Revolution: Smarter, Better, Faster, Smaller

Posted: March 8th, 2018

Bottom Line: With the stated national goal of achieving ‘great power status,’ China’s military modernization efforts have contributed to rising tension in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as between China and the United States. China’s growing ability to project military force – buttressed by the opening of its first overseas naval base in Djibouti, its artificial islands in the South China Sea and rapid naval advancements – is a worrying development from the perspective of the U.S. and its allies, as China seeks to reshape the existing international order.

Background: China began modernizing its military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), after the end of the Cold War and the first Gulf War. The former ushered in a period of global peace and prosperity that allowed China to grow wealthy and invest in its security, and the latter demonstrated the power of advanced technology and information on the battlefield.

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