China has been in the news for the wrong reason again and their military strategies have been questioned. It was just last week when Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced that the people’s liberation army will see a soldier reduction by 300,000. This was possibly meant to signal that China had no intention of aggressive behavior towards the rest of the world.
However, at nearly the same time, five Chinese ships were seen in the Bering Sea, which is near Alaska. Oddly enough, the timing coincided with president Obama’s last day visit to the state.
It is hard to evaluate what Xi’s strategy is. It would be hard to term if his strategy is amicable or hostile because the Chinese military seems to be sending out mixed signals. As of late, there is some type of a cold war between China and US. From what one could understand, it is evident that Xi wants to send out a message to his own country that he has tremendous control over the military and they are in no mood to waste money on land forces which might not help in improving the country’s strategic positioning. However, he is quick to also prove to the rest of the world that China will continue to pursue strategic military advantage in the world, especially in those areas where the US hasn’t set a strong establishment itself.
Since the US doesn’t have a strong presence in the Arctic, Xi is quick to move on the situation. Now, it would be hard for Obama to question Xi’s ship movements because they have stayed away from US waters. The move is definitely contriving and has been well-thought out. While it is too early to predict what China’s intentions are, aggressive or defensive, rest assured that the entire world is keeping its eyes wide open..
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