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The New Security Concept:China’s 21st Century Security Strategy for a Multi-polar World

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Abstract

China’s New Security Concept is new in name only and was conceptualized through the influence of Chinese strategic culture, a dynamic international political environment and a constant strategic re-assessment by the CCP to achieve their security goals and protect China’s interests.

INTR 13-303 Chinese Defence Policy Pat Blannin INTR 13-303 CHINESE DEFENCE POLICY The New Security Concept China’s 21st Century Security Strategy for a Multi-polar World Pat Blannin February 2011 Words China’s New Security Concept is new in name only and was conceptualized through the influence of Chinese strategic culture, a dynamic international political environment and a constant strategic re-assessment by the CCP to achieve their security goals and protect China’s interests. China’s 21st Century Security Strategy for a Multi-polar World The spectrum of international security has developed exponentially since the end of the Cold War. The subsequent introduction of nascent non-state threats combined with a resurgent Middle Power sector disrupted to the traditional security mindset thus requiring states to adjust to a diverse security environment. The New Security Concept (xin anquan guandian) is China’s response to contemporary global conditions by delivering a comprehensive 21st century security strategy for a potential multi-polar world. This paper argues that China’s New Security Concept is new in name only and was conceptualized through the influence of Chinese strategic culture, a dynamic international political environment and a constant strategic re-assessment by the CCP to achieve their security goals and protect China’s interests. The following essay introduces The New Security Concept and examines just how new the concept is by analysing China’s interaction with the international community from the current rhetoric emanating from the PRC through a process of devolution to find the concepts origin. The New Security Concept, herein-after the NSC, attempts to address what China perceives to be an outdated ‘Cold War Mentality’ and containment by the United States, through the promotion of peace and prosperity. The NSC’s creators seek “to rise above one- sided security and seek common security through mutually beneficial cooperation”, exploiting global common interests and therefore facilitating social development. The NSC progresses China’s regional leadership aspirations through the creation of a non-threatening, conscientious and transparent security mechanism. China has based the NSC on the fundamental principles of common security1, rather than the emerging comprehensive security model2, because the political dimension of the comprehensive concept contradicts the PRC’s traditional respect for a state’s political ideology. Cooperative security transcends traditional inter-state military conflict and avoids heightened threat perceptions caused by targeting specific adversaries establishing a ‘win/win’ security environment. 1 Sha Zukang, (2000). The Ambassador insisted that the promotion of common security throughout the region “should be the fundamental objective” of the PRC to establish a sustainable regional security environment, see http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/backup/jksbf/cjjk/2622/t15411.htm 2 Buzan, B., Waever, O. and de Wilde, J. (1998). Introduction. p.8. Security: A New Framework for Analysis. Lynne Rienner Publications: London. Comprehensive security comprises five sectors: Military, Political, Societal, Economic and Environmental. 1 INTR 13-303 Chinese Defence Policy Pat Blannin Academics such as Robert Kaplan deny the possibility of a ‘win/win’ scenario for a rising China. Kaplan argues that China’s gain is a U.S. loss and views an increasingly powerful China as a security destabiliser, disregarding the stabilising role of China during the 1997 Asian financial crisis and during the current global downturn, tensions on the Korean Peninsula as well as China’s peacekeeping involvement and MOOTW3. Criticism comes not surprisingly from the US who perhaps expect more from the NSC that China can legitimately produce given its large population, developing economy (although it continues to deliver strong growth figures) and the continuing modernisation of the PLA. Realist critical analysis such a Kaplan’s, justify China’s insistence that the current order is mired in Cold War mentality because it is increasingly apparent that “security problems are not exclusively in the military domain”4. Marc Lanteigne claims that the contemporary international security environment, most notably the dominance of non-traditional security threats has presented China with an opportunity to advance its “proposals involving alternative forms of cooperation to address non-state threats”5. Lanteigne also claims that the rapid change in China’s security strategy in the past two decades can be linked to the PLA’s focus on modernisation, professionalism and adaptation6. This paper argues that while the PLA have certainly modernised their capabilities across all sectors, the modernisation was required to fulfil the NSC’s desired outcomes and not as Lanteigne infers that the NSC was a reaction to the PLA’s modernisation. Chinese foreign affairs analyst Chu Shulong summarises the NSC as consisting of the “the four no’s: no power politics, no hegemonism, no military alliances and no arm’s races”7, a statement tilted in the United States’ direction without specifically naming them as a specific target. 3 MOOTW is an acronym for the PLA’S Military Operations Other Than War and are referred to in each of China’s National Defence white papers. MOOTW are essentially a broad range of confidence and security building measures. 4 Lampton, D. (2010). Power Constrained: Sources of Mutual Strategic Suspicion in U.S.-China Relations. The National Bureau of Asian Research. p.10, see http://www.nbr.org/publications/analysis/pdf/preview/A10_US- China_preview.pdf 5 Marc Lanteigne, (2009). Strategic Thinking and the Role of the Military. Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction. p.83. 6 Ibid; Boris T. Kulik. National Policy Making by the CCP: The Role Of Domestic Factors. In January 1980 Deng Xiaoping began his policy to “accelerate the course of modernization....without losing a single day we must concentrate all our efforts....”. However this essay shows that the NSC precedes 1980 by at least 25 years an arguably 5000 more. 7 Dr Denny Roy, (2003). p.3, See http://www.apcss.org/Publications/APSSS/ChinasPitchforaMultipolarWorld.pdf China’s 21st Century Security Strategy for a Multi-polar World Beijing believes that the “first twenty years of the twenty-first century would be a window of ‘strategic opportunity’”8 and that global tensions will be reduced through a comprehensive mechanism encompassing multi-lateral dialogue, expanded economic interaction and a broad range of CSBM’s9, therefore nullifying the threat from the use of force. China’s growing economic, political and military capabilities necessitated the creation of a security strategy which aligned with the PRC’s strategic foreign policy goals10. Invariably the NSC reflects Beijing’s improved self-confidence and understanding of international norms. Dr Denny Roy from the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies claims that indeed the NSC is not new. Dr Roy claims that “the NSC is best understood as a tactical adjustment to China’s external circumstances rather than a dramatic change in the PRC’s foreign policy outlook”11. Dr Roy’s statement corresponds with the thesis of this essay and will be used as a point from which to commence this essay’s devolution of the NSC. To begin an analysis of the innovation of the NSC several examples are presented to indicate how consistently and effectively the NSC is used in contemporary Chinese diplomacy. Hu Jintao has sought to take advantage of China’s improved international standing by advocating the ‘theory of opportunity’, stressing that China can and should 8 Bates Gill. (2010). Rising Star: China’s New Security Diplomacy. p.6, Jaing Zumin spoke of this ‘strategic opportunity’ in speech delivered to foreign ministers in Geneva in 1999. The 2002 CCP Congress declaration includes a similar notion st that the early 21 century is the right time to implement the NSC, p.5 ;The 2010 US DoD’s Report to Congress on Military and Security Developments involving the PRC also mentions the ‘strategic window of opportunity’ when explaining China’s rapid expansion of military capability, See United States Dept. of Defence, Report to Congress. Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Democratic Republic of China 2010. http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/2010_CMPR_Final.pdf 9 Confidence and security building measures. CBSM’s produce more tangible results than traditional CBM’s, for example: Arms control, non-proliferation and joint military exercises. 10 China’s Position Paper on the New Security Concept (2002), states that “Under the new historical conditions, the meaning of the security concept has evolved....extending from military and political to economic, science and technology, environment, culture and many other areas”, See Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PRC. http://www.china- un.org/eng/xw/t27742.htm ; Similarly, China’s interpretation of liberal economics with Chinese characteristics including finite boundaries rather than applying the Lassies Faire fundamentals of the ILEO presented China with the opportunity to securitize its economic sector, therefore enabling Beijing in the future, if inclined, to pursue true comprehensive security in a way that no other contemporary liberal state can Comprehensive Security, according to its developers and most reverent supporters, Barry Buzan and Ole Waever, requires each of the five sectors of security to be controllable to some extent in order for each sector to be legitimately securitized. The ILEO however, because it’s unregulated nature and ‘invisible hand’ doesn’t support the required control. See Buzan, B., Waever, O. and de Wilde, J. (1998). How Sectors are Synthesized. (p.p.110 and 165). Security: A New Framework for Analysis. Lynne Rienner Publications: London. 11 Dr Denny Roy. op. cit. p.1. 3 INTR 13-303 Chinese Defence Policy Pat Blannin improve its security and strategic policies by continuing its good neighbour policies while at the same time expanding beyond Asia12. On the 11th February 2010 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu's was asked about NATO’S closer security engagement with the BRIC13, counties to which the foreign minister replied “China has had some contact with NATO and is ready to continue relevant engagement with it based on the new security concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination”14. During the 64th General Assembly session of the United Nations in October 2009 China’s Ambassador to the UN gave a speech in which he claimed that: “China has called on the international community to join hands in the march forward, uphold the ideas of peace, development, cooperation, win- win progress and tolerance, and work towards a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity” and has “set their sight on the goal of universal security, uphold the new security concept characterized by mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation”15 The Ambassador recalled his leader President Hu Jintao’s comments at an earlier General Assembly session in which he boldly called for all nations to “join hands and march forward....towards a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity” 16. The four characteristics of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation encapsulate President Hu’s ‘Harmonious World’ concept, which proposes that the security and prosperity of one country cannot be sustained through the disadvantage of another. Harmonious World relies on countries cooperating with each other across all sectors of security which facilitates “a harmonious environment in which countries respect one another, treat one another as equals....and track towards win-win results, benefit-sharing and common prosperity”17. The 12 Marc Lanteigne. (2009). Who Makes Chinese Foreign Policy? op. cit.p.23 13 The BRIC acronym refers to the emerging or resurgent (depending on one’s interpretation of historical events) economic powers of Brazil, Russia, India and China. 14 Ma Zhaoxu, (2010). Press Release, 2nd February, 2011. PRC Embassy, Germany. See http://de.chinaembassy.org/det/fyrth/t657877.htm 15 Zhenmin, L. (2009). Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PRC See http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zwjg/zwbd/t618520.htm 16 Ibid. 17 Zhaoxing,l. (2005). Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PRC. See http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjdt/wshd/t214571.htm China’s 21st Century Security Strategy for a Multi-polar World NSC has enabled the PRC to promulgate ideas such as Harmonious World and The New Historic Missions18, by aligning them with the NSC’s transparent and consistent international security message. The New Security Concept can be traced from its current manifestation through the Chinese National Defence White Papers from 2008, 2002, 2000 and 1998 as well as releasing the ‘Position Paper on the New Security Concept’ during the ASEAN meeting in Brunei in August 2002. Although the NSC was included in the 2004 and 2006 white papers it did not develop any significant enrichment. This was not the case however as the PRC embraced the new millennium and also as the decade drew to a close. The ripple effect from the Global Financial tsunami emanating from the United States was clearly visible on Beijing’s radar, required another conceptual update19. Each Chinese National Defence white paper, released by the Information Office of the State Council, begins with a Preface or in some years a Foreword, where China’s yearly progress is evaluated and key principles are reinforced20. The subsequent section in the white paper is titled The Security Situation which equates to Beijing’s strategic assessment of the international security environment for the short to medium term. The Security Situation draws on the traditional strategic concept of shi and its contemporary equivalent comprehensive national power (CNP)21, at times referred to as 18 Daniel M. Hartnett. (2009). Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2009hearings/written_testimonies/09_03_04_wrts/09_03_04_hartnett_statement.pdfOn December 24, 2004, Chinese leader Hu Jintao outlined to the Central Military Commission a set of missions that would complement the modernization of the PLA. The “new missions can be summarized in four separate subtasks: To ensure military support for continued Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule in Beijing To defend China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security To protect China’s expanding national interests To help ensure a peaceful global environment and promote mutual development”. The third and fourth components of The New Historic Missions would not be plausible under a traditional, military focused security concept; Bates Gill claims that Beijing’s security diplomacy had begun to track towards Harmonious World and Peaceful Rise for a decade before the concepts were openly discussed op.cit. p.4 19 An article in the People’s Daily Online quoted Yuan Zhengling, a chief Chinese military strategist and one of the drafters of the 2008 defence white paper, who insisted that the concept’s re-assessment was to be expected because “a th large developing country should have its own voice on security issues”. See People’s Daily Online, 27 December 2004, http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200412/27/eng20041227_168809.html 20 The 2008 Preface reiterates China’s determination to achieve peaceful development, socialist modernisation, harmonious world and developing closer connections to the international community. see http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/nukes/2008DefenseWhitePaper_Jan2009.pdf 21 Dan Blumenthal and Christopher Griffin, ‘Understanding Strategy: A Delicate Dance’, Armed Forces Journal, April 2006, http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2006/04/1813794 , “Chinese analysts have devised complex algorithms to give relative weights to the various components of national power and create qualitative values for international comparison”. 5 INTR 13-303 Chinese Defence Policy Pat Blannin ‘comprehensive national strength’ (CNS) . Shi has historically has been utilized by China to re- assess, plot and project their strategic path thereby maximising China’s potential. Lacking a Western equivalent for the concept, Western analysts express shi as ‘disposition’, of strategic advantage and maximising current conditions22. Shi infiltrates the battlefield and is also applied to statecraft, where it encompasses “broader strategic factors such as political disposition, the strength of alliances and the robustness of an opponent’s politics”23. David Lai from the Strategic Studies Institute claims that Chinese linguists explain shi “the alignment of forces....potential borne out of disposition” that Chinese strategists use to exploit and manipulate a more powerful opponent24. Evidently the connection between China’s contemporary security origins and traditional strategic culture are emerging at this early stage of analysis and may yet be found to dominate the NSC. Chinese officials first introduced the NSC in 1996 at the CCP National Congress, although the NSC was officially presented by Chinese President Jiang Zumin at the 1997 ASEAN general conference25. Beijing deliberately selected the 1997 ASEAN meeting for two reasons, firstly South-East Asia would be a more receptive audience than the UN General Assembly because developing regional understanding and cooperation in the security sector was essential for the wider acceptance of the concept in the future and secondly because China was anxious to establish good relations in the region as China’s economic potential began to fully materialise. Since then the NSC commonly features in most public discussions on security and Beijing has continually “reiterated the NSC, adding details and modifications ;See also Michael Pillsbury, China Debates the Future Security Environment, National Defense University Press, 2000, Ch. 5, http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/doctrine/pills2/part08.htm ; See also United States Department of Defence. Report to Congress. Annual Report on the Military Power of the People’s Republic of China. (2002).http://www.defense.gov/news/Jul2002/d20020712china.pdf, The U.S. DoD includes a section dedicated to the concept of shi and Comprehensive national power. The DoD claims that CNP is a combination “qualitative and quantitative evaluations of politics, economics, military, science and technology and foreign affairs to determine relative CNP”p.p.5-6 22 Ibid. The authors cite Francois Julien’s ‘The Propensity of Things: Towards a History of Efficacy in China’ which states that in battle, shi allows Generals to observe “all of the circumstantial factors that can give advantage to or enervate an army”. 23 Ibid, Moral disposition and social climate are examined to formulate strategy. 24 David Lai, (2004). Learning From The Stones: A Go Approach To Mastering China’s Strategic Concept, Shi. Strategic Studies Institute. p.6, See http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB378.pdf 25 China became a full dialogue member of ASEAN in 1996. The following December during their first joint summit, President Jiang Zemin and ASEAN issued a joint statement, announcing their decision to establish a 21st century-oriented partnership of good neighbourliness based on mutual trust between. China’s 21st Century Security Strategy for a Multi-polar World that shed additional light on the strategic significance of the concept”26. An address by Lieutenant General Li Jijun at the U.S. Army War College in 1997 one month after Jiang Zumin’s ASEAN speech is an example of Beijing’s NSC reinforcement. The timing of his address was crucial as China hoped to define the concept to the United States before the military realists hijacked Beijing’s agenda. Lieutenant General Li Jijun explained China’s comprehensive approach and spoke of the negativity directed towards China’s ‘rise’ and the ‘China Threat’ theory by insisting that these “proposition ignores the facts and confuses what is right and what is wrong....the common interests that we share are greater than our differences27. The NSC is primarily driven the “present security environment, which the PRC insists is based on outmoded Cold War thinking or a Cold War mentality”28. China has seen that Great Power states have struggled to escape the confines of bi-polarity and great power conflict and continue to disregard the smaller countries despite the emergence of non-state actors who parallel traditional security threats. Beijing is adamant that there is a need for a comprehensive approach to security, not just military, which would facilitate the input of smaller and developing states into the contemporary international security debate. Beijing regularly introduces the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence into the discussion of the NSC, which have maintained primacy in Chinese foreign diplomacy since 1955. The Five Principles are “mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence”29. One such example of the PRC reaffirming the Five Key Principles of Peaceful Co-existence is the 1998 Chinese Defence White Paper which states, “Each country has the right to choose its own social system, development strategy and way of life, and no country should interfere in the internal affairs of any other country in any way 26 Roy, D. op. cit. p.2 27 Jijun, Li. (1997). Traditional Military Thinking and the Defensive Strategy of China. p.5 and p.7. Strategic Studies Institute. http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/doctrine/china-li.pdf , Lt Gen. Jijun continued the NSC core values by stating Economic policies that are mutually beneficial are preferable to economic sanctions....mutual respect is better than discrimination, just as trust is better than suspicion”. p.9. (Italics added by P. Blannin). 28 Roy, D. op. cit. 29 Warnapala, W. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Bandung Conference of 1955 on the Resurgence of Asia and Africa. Daily th News Online. Retrieved 28 January, 2011 from http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/04/21/fea01.htm 7 INTR 13-303 Chinese Defence Policy Pat Blannin or under any pretext, much less resort to military threats or aggression”30. This declaration coincides with China’s expanding regional influence and international recognition and Beijing felt confident enough to proclaim that it is a state’s sovereign right to decide its own path to development which was undoubtedly delivered as a thin-veiled response to those in the West who continued to construct the ‘China Threat’ theory31. China developed the NSC during the embryonic stages of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the SCO continues to act as a vehicle for the NSC’s evolution through its multi-lateral security dialogue exchange. The concept’s principles were labelled the ‘Shanghai Spirit’ but followed the core principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and consultation32. The Shanghai Cooperative Organization is the most current and visible regional demonstration of how the NSC would function on a global scale. The SCO’s primary purpose, embedded in the preamble of the Shanghai Convention, is combating terrorism, separatism and extremism. Beijing labels these threats ‘the three evils’ and gives an indication to the growing regional acceptance of the NSC33, while the SCO often acts as a surrogate mouthpiece for the NSC. According to an official Beijing press release, the SCO is guided by the principles of “non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any other country or region”34, which is often referred to as the “Shanghai Spirit”35 The decision by China to develop the New Security Concept was only possible during the mid-late 90’s for three reasons: Firstly the end of the Cold War and the restructuring of the international system, secondly due to China’s rising economic and diplomatic power, thirdly and most importantly this was possible because China emerged from an internally focused, internationally neglected state to a position of global systemic strength. The NSC would not have been a practical policy for a fragile China to adopt earlier and may have led 30 The State Council Information Office, China's National Defence in 1998. PRC. op. cit. 31 Lampton, D. op. cit. p.4, Some examples of China Threat literature include: The Coming Conflict with China, China Can Say No, China Is Unhappy, Unrestricted Warfare, and The Coming Collapse of China and what Lampton labels “China on steroids” literature; When China Rules the World. 32 The State Council Information Office, China's National Defence in 2002. PRC. http://www.china.org.cn/e- white/20021209/index.htm 33 Shanghai Convention on the Struggle against Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, 2001. http://www.kfm.ru/eng/files/unconv2001.doc ,each member of the SCO are signatories to the Shanghai Convention and remain committed to the organisations regional security framework. 34 Roy, D. op. cit. 35 Liping, X. (2004). The New Security Concept in China’s New Thinking of International Strategy. Shanghai Institute for International Studies. International Review Spring 2004. http://www.IRChina.org China’s 21st Century Security Strategy for a Multi-polar World to ridicule from regional and global actors. The NSC both compliments and facilitates China’s evolution from its victim mentality of the 100 years of humiliation into a pro-active member of the international community by re-inventing the widely endorsed common security theory with Chinese characteristics. At the end of the Cold War China perceived itself emerging as one of the key international actors however the actions of the United States during the 1991 Gulf War and their projection of military strength, forced China to adjust their perception and most likely influenced Chinese policy makers to develop the Five Key Principles of Peaceful Coexistence into the NSC. An important aspect of the 91’ Gulf War was that “vast quantities of Chinese weaponry” was in the hands of Iraqi soldiers as they were overpowered by what Bates Gill labelled “an awesome display of power”36. This undoubtedly reaffirmed to Beijing that if China was to reach beyond its strategic frontier, it needed a concept based on trust, cooperation and shared interests and not primarily on military capability37. In 1982 Deng Xiaoping showed tremendous insight to forecast the end of the Cold War. Once again Chinese strategic culture materializes as President Deng enlisted the traditional concept of shi in calculating that the Soviet decline would result in a more cooperative, potentially multi-polar international system; the die was cast, and the NSC would be China’s security policy to engage with the new security environment. The venue for the delivery of Deng’s analysis was the Twelfth Party Congress of the CCP and the assembly was significant for it was also where Deng claimed that “the universal truth of Marxism must be integrated with the concrete realities of China and China must blaze a trail of its own, building socialism with Chinese characteristics”38. President Deng’s announcement was in contrast to the Moist strategy of “an early war, a major war and nuclear war” and the disastrous consequences that befell the Chinese population as a result39. From this moment onwards China had begun to re-emerge from its self imposed 36 Bates Gill. op. cit. p.3 37 Blumenthal and Griffin. op.cit. In an attempt to counter China’s ‘peaceful rise’ concept the authors point to the PLA’s strategy of “preparing for local wars under modern high-technology conditions” indicating a level of preparedness to attack. To achieve this China would develop weapons capability to defeat US weapons not US soldiers. 38 Deng Xiaoping. China Corner.com. http://china-corner.com/article_list.asp?id=329 39 Bates Gill. op. cit. p.3 9 INTR 13-303 Chinese Defence Policy Pat Blannin cacoon, maintaining CCP doctrine but developing strategies such as the NSC as the nation gained momentum. The concept can be traced further by confirming that the NSC is an evolution of the Five Key Principles of Peaceful Co-existence introduced in 1955 at the Bandung Conference of Asian and African nations in Indonesia and Chinese Premier Zhou Ehlai formulated them into China’s foreign policy at the first CCP National Congress the following year. Following on from the Bandung Conference, the Five Key Principles of Peaceful Co-existence were adopted as a foundation of foreign policy many countries in the third world primarily across Asia and Africa and in turn, those state’s realised they could assert themselves as responsible players in an international system which at the time was enveloped by the increasing restrictions of the Cold War40. The so-called ‘Bandung Spirit’ was delivered in foreign policy declarations across the developing world throughout the 1960’s41. To solidify the connection between the New Security Concept and the Five Key Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, one can compare both concepts by reducing them to their basic framework, without the impediment of additional rhetoric. During the Bandung Conference the five principles were presented as; “mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful co-existence”42, leapfrog 50 years and they mirror Chu Shulong’s ‘Four No’s’43. Now compare those principles with the core elements of the NSC delivered by Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan to the 54th Session of the UN General Assembly in November 2000 where the foreign minister announced that “the core of the new security concept should be mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation”44. Upon reflection, from 2011 one can definitively link the NSC to 1996 and its universally agreed45, official introduction into Chinese diplomacy and extend those linkages to the 1980’s and Deng Xiaoping’s seminal oration in 1982, continuing through to the mid 50’s and 40 Jawaharlal Nehru gave the concept the name “Panchaseela principles”; see also Gill, B. op. cit. p.5; 41 Lanteigne, M. Moving Beyond Asia: China’s cross-regional diplomacy. op.cit. p.133 42 th Warnapala, W. Bandung Conference of 1955 on the Resurgence of Asia and Africa. Daily News Online. Retrieved 28 January, 2011 from http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/04/21/fea01.htm ; see also Lanteigne, M. op.cit. p.133 43 See footnote no.4 (Roy, 2003). 44 Liping, X. op.cit. p.2 45 See Gill, B. op. cit. p.5; Liping, X. op.cit. p.2; Lanteigne, M. op. cit. pp.87-88; China’s 21st Century Security Strategy for a Multi-polar World the introduction of Chinese Premier Zhou Ehlai’s Five Key Principles of Peaceful Co-existence and the demonstrated conceptual overlap with the NSC. Lieutenant General Li Jijun declared “to have a better understanding of the current strategy, it is necessary to gain some knowledge of traditional Chinese thinking” 46, therefore from 1955 this essay addresses the linkages between the NSC and ancient Chinese Strategic Culture. The traditional notion of shi has previously been examined and a deeper investigation of Confucian and Taoist philosophy reveals similar connections such as the concept of yin-yang. The four key aspects of shi which Sun Tzu outlines in The Art of War can be directly correlated to the NSC. Firstly the notion of regularity (zheng) and knowing when to deviate from the status quo (qi) which the NSC facilitates by resisting the Cold War mentality and approaching security through common interests and win/win. The second aspect involves China creating overwhelming force, which would usually exist in the military realm however through the NSC China hopes to develop strong economic and diplomatic relations throughout the world, creating a quasi alliance framework that wields tremendous power. The third element is directly applicable to the NSC and that is the need to establish a favourable environment in which to reach political objectives. Finally, shi entails seizing and sustaining the initiative which Beijing has done by introducing the NSC itself but also through the cooperative security mechanisms that the NSC creates47. Likewise ‘Comprehensive National Power’, although a relatively new entry into China’s analytical lexicon, has its conceptual foundations in ancient Chinese culture. Confucianism dictates that Yin and Yang are at the root of all things. They are complimentary forces in our world where Yin is seen as passive, yielding, and nurturing and thus facilitates the NSC’s core elements of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit while Yang is active, dominating, and creative and would support cooperation to address non-state threats, the promotion of trust among states and peace, prosperity and social progress. The most important feature of Confucius and Taoist philosophy for the NSC is flexibility, for just as water ebbs and flows to suit its environment, slowing where obstructed and changing the landscape when 46 Lieutenant General Li Jijan. op. cit. p.1 47 David Lai. op. cit. Lai examines the chapter of Art of War that is dedicated to shi. Lai describes zheng and qi as rigidity and fluidity or regularity and variation, p.p.6-7. 11 INTR 13-303 Chinese Defence Policy Pat Blannin unfettered, the structure of the NSC allows it to adapt to the dynamics of international security. Also applicable are the Confucian notion’s of wen (civility) over wu (martiality), or to simplify the notion; diplomacy over military threat. “Wu was only to be resorted to if wen failed and, indeed, wu was believed to most effective when the treat of it was not dominant over wen”48. In the conceptual framework of the NSC, Again we see the principle of yin-yang in that a balanced or stable order needs to be pursued and the method of doing so should be subtle and well-timed rather than overt and aggressive. Continuing the correlation between the Taoist and Confucian philosophy’s of Chinese strategic culture and the NSC enables China to “excel through strength of character rather than force of arms”49. At this stage of the analysis it is important to note that any “states security strategies do not exist in a vacuum”50, they are as reactive or proactive as the external environment allows. China is no exception in this respect, therefore in parallel with China’s strategic culture and its association with the NSC, one must consider that the international socio- political atmosphere since Mao and the CCP gained control of China in 1949, has also contributed to China’s security strategy. Such influence can be observed when scrutinizing the international events that preceded the Bandung Conference in 1955 and the introduction of the Five Key Principles of Peaceful Co-existence. Prior To 1955, China was impacted by; the effects of the Korean War, the declining Sino/Russian relationship, the nascent ‘China Threat Theory’ that was gathering momentum, a looming Taiwanese Strait crisis and crucially the CCP were conducting internal discussions on how to acquire a nuclear capability of their own, an idea that was denounced previously51. Combined with these 48 Dellios, R. (1996). "Mandalas of Security," Culture Mandala: The Bulletin of the Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies. (vol. 2). Iss. 1, Article 1. p.18, http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=cm; also Dellios, R. (1994).Chinese Strategic Culture: Part 1 - The Heritage from the Past. Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies Research Paper No. 1 April. file:///C:/Users/pat/Desktop/Chinese%20Strategic%20Culture%20%20Part%201.htm 49 Dellios, R. (1994).Chinese Strategic Culture - Part 2: Virtue and Power. Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies ResearchPaperNo.2,November. http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=cewces_papers 50 Russell Ong, 2007 51 Shen Dingli. (2009). Towards A Nuclear Weapons Free World: A Chinese Perspective. Lowy Institute for International Policy. http://www.lowyinstitute.org/Publication.asp?pid=1206 , Dingli claims that China has “openly advocated nuclear abolition from the very day of its first nuclear weapons test in 1964”, p.1; Lieutenant General Li Jijan. op.cit. Lt Gen. Jijun devotes a sizable section of his address the U.S. Army College to China’s nuclear capability and ambition, p.p.5-6 China’s 21st Century Security Strategy for a Multi-polar World major international issues were the domestic security problems that all states must negotiate. Andrew Scobell, in another forensic analysis of Chinese strategic culture in October 2005 insists that “Culture has long been considered a critical dimension in China’s approach to strategy and warfare”52. Scobell continues that in the last three decades, ‘strategic culture’ has begun to permeate discussions of Beijing’s security agenda; however Confucianism was believed to be the dominant facet of Chinese strategic thought. Through the dedication of scholars such as Scobell and Iain Johnston53, Western analysts perception that Chinese strategic culture could be understood by examining Sun Tzu’s Art of War has been reassessed and thus Confucianism’s exclusivity has been adapted to “include such traditions as Legalism and Daoism as well as popular myths and folk traditions....political, civil-military, organizational and strategic”54, conditions are all elements of the strategic culture amalgam. Scobell’s explanation of China’s strategic culture offers analysts and policy makers on both sides of the Pacific increased flexibility when engaging each other and although his version will never satisfy the likes of Kaplan and Meirshiemer, it hopefully mitigates the misinterpretation that currently undermines potential cooperation. Tony Corn alludes to a lack of understanding of Chinese strategic culture in a 2010 article where he claims that “all three IR schools (realism, liberalism, constructivism) hedge their bets by offering both a pessimistic and an optimistic variant – a tacit admission that, on the most burning issue of the day, the predictive value of IR theory is close to nil”55. By using Scobell’s hypothesis that Beijing’s security decisions are a combination of current realities and past experiences it is feasible to suggest that with its tenets of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation, the NSC may facilitate China’s contemporary ‘Age of Discovery’. Whereas Zheng He peacefully navigated a fleet of ships through a new 52 Scobell. A. (2005). Strategic Culture and China: IR Theory Versus the Fortune Cookie? Strategic Insights, (vol. 4). Issue 10, http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA519824 53 Iain Johnston has written extensively on Chinese strategic culture and together with Andrew Scobell has contributed such titles as: 54 Ibid. 55 Corn, T. (2010). 'Peaceful Rise through Unrestricted Warfare: Grand Strategy with Chinese Characteristics', Small Wars Journal, June 2010, at http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2010/06/grand-strategy-with-chinese-ch/ 13 INTR 13-303 Chinese Defence Policy Pat Blannin world, China can use the NSC to convey “friendship and goodwill and to promote economic and cultural exchange between China” and the rest of the world 56. Comparisons like these are not unfounded when one examines Deng Xiaoping’s assessment of the future security environment was that "the growth of the world's forces of peace exceed the growth of the forces of war"57. From this viewpoint the NSC is a continuation of China’s belief that one must inherit the past and update it to suit current conditions. Joseph Nye and Robert Keohane claim that policy such as the NSC can be explained by “increased communications, movements of peoples across international borders and foreign investments....significant changes in attitudes and conduct of states such as China, can take place without China realising it”58. Such a theory denies the proven strategic planning ability of the PRC and especially the ability of the Socialist government to manipulate foreign policy to ensure its political survival, however China’s strategic planning capabilities are not the sole domain of the PRC and permeate deep into China’s history as this essay has shown. The 1998 Chinese National Defence white paper proudly states that for over 5000 years of Chinese civilization, China’s strategists advocated “peace in the world and for relations of friendship with the people of other countries”59. This essay’s thesis is based on the logic that “each civilization has its own notion of war which cannot help but be influenced by its cultural background”60 The U.S. Department of Defence’s Report to Congress for 2010 maintains that the New Security Concept is China’s attempt to proactively engage with the international system while at the same time protecting China’s strategic priorities which include “perpetuating CCP rule, sustaining economic growth and development, maintaining domestic political stability, defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity and 56 Lieutenant General Li Jijan. op. cit. p.2, Zheng He was not under instruction to conquer new territory for the emperor, but simply to embark on a voyage of discovery throughout Asian and African nations. 57 Pillsbury, M. op. cit. 58 st Russell Ong. (2007). The drive to global power status. (p.p.113-124). China’s Security Interests in the 21 Century. Routledge: London, p.119. 59 The State Council Information Office, Chapter 2, National Defence. China's National Defence in 1998. op. cit. 60 Lieutenant General Li Jijan. op. cit. p.1 China’s 21st Century Security Strategy for a Multi-polar World securing China’s status as a great power”61. China’s strategic priorities are often referred to as their grand strategy by many Western analysts. The thesis of this essay is derived from an analysis of contemporary and historical text however reinforcement for the thesis can be drawn unexpectedly from the U.S. DoD report which dictates that “China’s grand strategy has been influenced primarily by a combination of the ancient tenets of Chinese statecraft as well as more modern national development theory”62, although Beijing does not subscribe to this grand strategy proposal. The NSC therefore is not a new concept but merely a bridge between historical Chinese strategic thought and contemporary Chinese national interests. If as the West prophesize, China has a grand strategy, then the NSC is simply a new label applied to China’s long-term strategic plan to fulfil a grand strategy with Chinese characteristics. Lieutenant General Li Jijun believes that world should “marvel at the tremendous power of history....the Cold War is over and the trend towards multi-polarity is irreversible”63; therefore there is a need to generate security concepts that draw upon historical events and culture as well as contemporary interests and threats. The devolution of the NSC as part this papers comprehensive analysis supports the argument that the New Security Concept is new in name only and was conceptualized through the influence of Chinese strategic culture, a dynamic international political environment and a constant strategic re-assessment by the CCP to achieve their security goals and protect China’s interests. 61 Dept. of Defence, Report to Congress. Annual Report on the Military Power of the People’s Republic of China (2002), http://www.defense.gov/news/Jul2002/d20020712china.pdf 62 United States Dept. of Defence, Report to Congress. (2002). op.cit. p.7 63 Lieutenant General Li Jijan. op.cit. p.9. Lt Gen. Jijun defended China’s strategy, claiming “Cooperation is better than confrontation....consultation is better than conflict”. 15 INTR 13-303 Chinese Defence Policy Pat Blannin

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