Читать книгу The State of China Atlas - Robert Benewick - Страница 17

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China’s regular armed forces number 2.1 million, and comprise 9 percent of the world’s total. In addition, there is a reserve force of 800,000, and a military police force of 1.5 million. An army of this size is impressive on paper, and reasonably cheap to run, but in modern warfare it is high-tech weaponry that counts, and China’s military expenditure is a long way behind that of the USA and the total for the rest of NATO. China does have a nuclear capacity, however. While minuscule in comparison with that of Russia or the USA, it is significant in terms of China’s military power within Asia and South-East Asia. China’s unannounced testing of an anti-satellite missile on an ageing weather satellite in January 2007 is also significant. Military specialists noted that it involved the successful interception of an object travelling on a similar trajectory, and at a comparable speed to that of an inter-continental ballistic missile. China has become increasingly keen to play a part on the world stage, with around 2,000 troops, engineers and medical staff involved in peacekeeping missions around the world during 2008, including UN and African Union missions in Sudan. It has also, however, been criticized for its sale of arms to developing countries, in particular to the Sudanese government.

see also page 106

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