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

“Operational Diplomacy”: Peacekeeping and Antipiracy.
The PLA’s participation in peacekeeping and
antipiracy operations represents an effort to promote
an image of China as a “responsible stakeholder” in
the international system. Both efforts also serve to
highlight the PLA’s gradual development of the capabilities
necessary to protect China’s expanding global
interests.
The PLA’s contributions to peacekeeping operations
(PKOs) and, most recently, its participation in
antipiracy operations in the Gulf of Aden represent a
more “operational” side to PLA foreign military relations.
Rather than sending a message or promoting
a desired image through dialogues, exchanges, and
combined exercises, the PLA has begun participating
in active, real-world military operations to demonstrate
China’s commitment to being a “responsible
power.” 89
When it assumed its seat on the United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) in 1971, China was firmly opposed
to peacekeeping operations on the grounds that
they constituted interference in the internal affairs of
other countries. 90 During the 1980s—the period of reform
and opening—China gradually shifted its position
to offering limited support. Since 2000, China’s
participation in PKOs has surged. 91 At present, China
is now the second largest contributor of peacekeepers
among the five permanent members of the UNSC. 92 It
is important to note that not all Chinese peacekeepers
are PLA personnel. In fact, a significant proportion of
them are policemen. Since it began deploying peacekeepers
in 1991, the PLA has sent over 10,000 noncombat
personnel on missions abroad. The majority
of PLA peacekeepers are engineering, medical, communications,
transportation, and logistics personnel. 93
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