The PLA at Home and Abroad - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

6. To independently develop military relations
based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence
with all countries;
7. To send military experts and military diplomats
to participate in bilateral and multilateral discussions
related to the definition of national boundaries;
8. To participate in multilevel, multichannel regional
bilateral and multilateral security dialogue and
cooperation, and to actively participate in international
arms control; and,
9. To use various foreign policy channels to increase
exchanges with the defense ministries, armed
forces, military academies, scientific research establishments,
and defense industries of countries around
the world. 13
It is interesting to note that some of what Western
observers might consider the major components
of foreign military relations—military dialogue, cooperative
activities, and exchanges—rank relatively low
on the PLA’s list of diplomatic priorities, well behind
countering threats to China’s sovereignty, deterring
Taiwan independence, and opposing imperialism. Indeed,
the first five goals are strategic-level goals that
are to be supported by the following four operationallevel
activities. This further illustrates that PLA military
diplomacy is not regarded as a freestanding set
of activities with its own intrinsic value, but rather
as a vehicle for furthering the Party-State’s strategic
national objectives. The recurring use of the words
“peace,” “peaceful,” and “cooperation” is representative
of China’s efforts to use military diplomacy as a
vehicle for implementing its general policy of reassurance.
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