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China’s National Defense In 2006
Assessment: In stark contrast to its last defense white paper published in 2004, China’s sixth update, published in December 2006, specifically excluded the particularly harsh rhetoric aimed at Taiwan’s inclinations toward independence. It would appear evident that China’s leadership no longer feels technologically inferior to its small island neighbor, and could now prevail over any move towards Taiwan independence. Serving as a vehicle to publish China’s views on a wide range of security issues, this year’s publication chronicles a three step development strategy for modernizing its national defenses and armed forces, seeking the ultimate goal of winning ‘informationized’ wars by the mid 21st century. The white paper goes to great lengths to extol China’s ‘peaceful development’ including its no-first-use doctrine with regards to its nuclear weapons, and reiterates that its defense modernization is solely related to national and coastal maritime security issues while keeping pace with its booming economy.
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