Until recently, Chinese military training was widely dismissed as infrequent, unrealistic and overly scripted. In the 1980s and 1990s, outside observers and internal critics alike raised doubts about the utility of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) exercises, and it was clear that training deficiencies represented... MORE

Indian Army Chief of Staff General Joginder Jaswant Singh, having recently returned from a week-long visit to China, announced that Delhi and Beijing would hold their very first joint army exercise in October. The exercise, in which 100 Indian soldiers will be sent to China,... MORE

Chinese President Hu Jintao is strengthening the People’s Liberation Army’s command structure even as the Pentagon has spotlighted its rapid modernization in its recently released report on China’s military power. As chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) since late 2004, Hu is expected to... MORE

Of all the elements of growing national power China now wields to promote its national interests in Africa, its military’s role raises the most anxiety. Beijing’s Africa Strategy to promote China’s economic (resource access and trade) and political (One China recognition) interests explicitly tie in... MORE

China’s launch of its fifth navigation and positioning satellite in April 2007 reaffirms its commitment to establishing an increasingly capable satellite navigation and positioning system able to compete with the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS). Called Beidou, but sometimes referred to as the Compass Navigation... MORE