China’s military pulls back from joint war games to focus on training at home
- But analysts say Beijing will continue military diplomacy efforts to gain intelligence insights as it seeks to expand influence
- PLA took part in 104 joint drills in 2016 but the number fell to 17 last year
The PLA took part in fewer joint exercises in 2018 as it focused on training at home, though it has been ramping up military diplomacy activities in recent years as it tries to expand its influence abroad.
Analysts said while Beijing was still keen to use defence diplomacy to gain intelligence insights, the People’s Liberation Army was focusing on boosting combat readiness amid heightened rivalry with the United States.
Military diplomacy refers to joint exercises, port calls, high-level dialogue involving senior officials and activities such as peacekeeping missions.
The PLA joined a bilateral exercise for the first time in 2002 and took part in 130 joint drills from 2003 to 2014, according to data from the National Defence University’s Centre for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs in the US.
The number grew significantly in 2015 and 2016, when China’s military took part in 102 and 124 joint exercises, respectively. The number of port calls went from four in 2003 to 22 in 2016.
But in 2017, China appeared to pull back from drills with other countries, joining only 24 – and last year the number was 17, according to calculations by the South China Morning Post based on Chinese state media reports.
