In a column in The Washington Post, Gary Schmitt attributes China’s military spending to its “cravings” toward power and recognition.
Last month’s annual Pentagon report on the Chinese military took note of Beijing’s sizable expansion of its capabilities — as have all the reports since the Defense Department began producing them in 2000.
And, as in previous years, much of the commentary inside and outside of the government has focused on China’s lack of transparency. We complain that we don’t know exactly how much China is spending on its military and what exactly it is acquiring. Most important, we complain that we don’t know the strategic “why” behind this buildup. [Full Text]
