China’s military build-up in the early twenty-first century : from arms procurement to war-fighting capability

Abstract

Since the late 1990s, China’s military arsenal has been dramatically modernised.

However, the actual military value of the newly developed systems has yet to be clarified. This study attempts to do so, on the basic assumption that technological

military progress per se is not sufficient to increase military strength. Instead of

evaluating arms development in technological terms, it therefore adopts an alternative

approach to consider its adaptability to the country’s strategic situation.