China's military in diplomatic charm offensive

Associated Press ^ | 10/21/2011 | CHRISTOPHER BODEEN

[sukhoi-30mki]

China's military in diplomatic charm offensive

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press – 1 day ago

BEIJING (AP) — China may make its neighbors nervous with its robust military build-up, but it's also increasingly using the army as part of its charm offensive abroad.

The People's Liberation Army, in a cultural shift for an institution known for strident nationalism and unbending loyalty to the Communist Party, is expanding overseas aid missions and military exchanges in a major way. It sent 50 medics to flood-hit Pakistan this week and dispatched a hospital ship last month on a 105-day trip to poor nations in the Caribbean — right in America's backyard.

The diplomatic push, part of a larger global campaign by the Chinese government, aims to portray China as a responsible rising power, while softening the image of the 2.3 million-member military and boosting its ties with other nations' armed forces.

"It's has been a big step for them, but China appreciates this as a part of the normal practices of respected major powers in their relations with other countries," said Ron Huisken of the Australian National University's Strategic and Defense Studies Center.

China's "soft power" drive also includes foreign aid, cultural exchange and a massive expansion of state television to reach foreign audiences — all attempts to win friends and correct what China considers to be a biased Western portrayal of it.

The military took its first big stab at overseas disaster relief last year, sending helicopters to help out with floods in Pakistan. Last month, the air force flew 7,000 tents to the once-again flood-ravaged country and it is also shipping

[Hugin]

Chinese PLA troops in Iraq (guarding oil fields leased to Chinese).

[Cringing Negativism Network]

America first.

[DJ MacWoW]

Are You A Whining FReeper?

Got A Gripe So You Won't Donate?

Click The Pic

Isn't That Like Setting Fire To Your Own Home?

When FR Is Gone, Where Will You Go Then?

[Niuhuru]

Maybe we should leave Iraq; once the terrorists start going after the Chinese, the Chinese will probably do a better job at rooting out the terrorist scum than we will. They will also not have the qualms or hippies to interfere with actually solving the problem.