Annual Report to US Congress. Office of the US secretary of defense recently published the unclassified part of the annual report on military and security developments involving the people’s republic of china. The US Department of Defense (DoD) has been providing this report for the last 20 years.
Scope of these Reports. These reports assess the contours of China’s national strategy, its approach to security and military affairs, and potential changes in the PRC’s armed forces. They essentially include the following:
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- The current and probable future course of military-technological development of the PLA.
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- The tenets and probable development of Chinese security and military strategy.
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- Military organizations and operational concepts supporting such development.
2020 Report. This report is special because, 2020 is an important year for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) before the milestone of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) centenary in 2021. It is also the timeline for the Chinese broader interim goal to transform China into a “moderately prosperous society”. The report covers developments until the end of 2019. Developments in 2020, including the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, would be covered in the next report.
Report Analysis. The report is of 200 pages with a 15 page executive summary. While the report provides an insight into developments in China and the PLA, it analysis is from Sino-US point of view.
Analysis from Indo-China Perspective. It would be worthwhile to analyze the contents of the report from Indo-China point of view.
Coming up – Series of articles
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China Through USA’s Prism: Indo-China Perspective