Soldiers prepare the PG59 57mm anti-aircraft artillery gun for a demonstration at a base of People's Liberation Army Lanzhou Military 47th Combined Corps anti-air brigade in Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi province. Photo: AP
Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China: Was it a charm offensive, or a show of force by the largest army in the world?
In a rare move to allow access to foreign journalists to tour a military base, the People's Liberation Army showed off its anti-aircraft brigade in Lintong, about an hour's drive east of Xi'an in Shaanxi province, ahead of the important August 1 anniversary recognised as the army's founding in 1929.
?If you're asking if we will win if we fight a war against a specific country, that question is too hypothetical.? ?
The brigade's soldiers performed manoeuvring drills with anti-aircraft artillery, and stayed on afterwards to allow journalists to mingle freely and ask questions.
Defence Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said the event was not another recent show of military muscle, but was more about showing the army was trying to become more transparent.
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?What's there to show about growth in China's army? It's very natural,? said Mr Geng, perhaps best known in Australia for denouncing Canberra's decision in 2011 to allow the United States to station a naval presence near Darwin.
But neighbouring countries including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines locked in territorial disputes with China do not share such a sanguine view of its surging military capability ? and its apparent willingness to flaunt it.
Earlier this month, in its annual defence white paper, Japan accused China of ?rapidly expanding and intensifying? its maritime activities and engaging in ?dangerous acts that could give rise to an emergency situation?, referring to an incident where a Chinese naval vessel locked its weapons on a Japanese destroyer.
The white paper also said China's deployment of its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, and the build-up of its submarine force was aimed at escalating its maritime activity and territorial claims.
Also this month, China and India narrowly avoided escalating its border dispute after as many as 100 Chinese troops crossed into Eastern Ladakh carrying banners asking India to vacate ?occupied? territory.
Hawkish PLA senior officials, including retired major-general Luo Yuan, have been banging the war drums with a steady beat, urging China to take military action against Japan.
China announced in March that it increased its annual defence budget rose by 10.7 per cent to 720 billion yuan ($127 billion), continuing a near unbroken run of double-digit annual percentage growth over the past two decades. Numerous western military analysts believe China to under-report its military spend.
But despite the increased spending, there are question marks over the professionalism and combat-readiness of China, particularly with revelations from a four-star general that last year that corruption was crippling the PLA.
Chen Xifeng, the brigadier of the Lanzhou Military Region, said he was pleased to see his country's military develop, but emphasised he ?loved peace more?.
?With respect to being ready for combat, we have very clear targets,? he told Fairfax Media.
?[But] if you're asking if we will win if we fight a war against a specific country, that question is too hypothetical.?
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