China is playing close attention to how Ukraine, a smaller and outgunned force, has battled what was thought to be one of the world’s most powerful armies. Experts say China will be parsing weaknesses as they might apply to its own Soviet-style military.
Experts have been collectively stunned that Russia invaded Ukraine with seemingly little preparation and lack of focus — a campaign along multiple, poorly-coordinated axes that has failed to effectively combine air and land operations.
“It’s a very personal war on his part,” Graham said. “And I think the expectation that this would be a cakewalk is obviously the biggest single failure.” “The wakeup call for Central Military Commission is that there are more unknown factors involved in any such campaign than they may have anticipated,” Chen said.
China’s military has a tradition of respect for initiative from lower-ranking soldiers dating from its revolutionary origins, said Yue Gang, a Beijing-based military analyst. By contrast, Russian forces in Ukraine have shown weaknesses where decisions have had to be made on the front lines, he said. China’s military is highly opaque and outside the purview of civilian judges and corruption investigators, so it’s difficult to know how thoroughly the organization has been exorcised of practices such as the selling of commissions and kickbacks on defense contracts.
The stated goal of China’s military reform is to “fight and win wars” against a “strong enemy” — a euphemism widely understood to refer to the United States. Berger stressed the need for strong coalitions in the Pacific as a way to keep China’s ambitions toward Taiwan in check.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
China and Russia seeing in Ukraine 'how much people prize their own freedom': Sen. BluntSen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said that there may not be much substance behind Russian President Vladimir Putin's threats.
Read more »
China accuses U.S., NATO of 'cheering Ukraine up to fight a 10-year war''We can fight the Russian Federation for 10 years to take what's ours,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said.
Read more »
Toyota, Volkswagen and Tesla are bringing factories in China back on lineToyota and Volkswagen are gradually bringing their China factories back on line after they were closed for weeks because of Covid lockdowns.
Read more »
Analysts see less room for China rate cuts after 'conservative' RRR cutThe smallness of a cut to the amount of money Chinese banks must hold in reserves may reflect concern by the Chinese central bank over inflation and U.S. monetary tightening, making further interest rate cuts less likely, analysts say.
Read more »
China Signs Solomon Islands Pact, Over U.S., Australia OppositionChina says it has signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, confirming an arrangement that drew objections from the U.S. and Australia in its draft form
Read more »