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

Sustainment of Units Abroad.
During the Korean War, the attack by the People’s Volunteer
Army was described by United Nations forces
as a ‘one-week attack,’ mainly because the quantity of
grain and bullets each of the soldiers . . . carried . . .
determined the length of combat time. . . . Sooner or
later, China is going to have to start acting like a mature
power (and establish overseas bases).
Dai Xu, PLAAF Air Force Colonel 99
The major powers are withdrawing from the peacekeeping
role. . . . China felt it is the right time for us to
fill this vacuum. We want to play our role.
Wang Gangya, China’s UN Ambassador 100
Over the last 10 years, a major feature of PLA overseas
operational experience has concentrated on participation
in UN Peacekeeping Missions. In 2000, China’s
participation fell well below the top 20 nations, 101
but China has expanded its support from individual
observers to the addition of police, and finally adding
military personnel, which presently include battalion-sized
and larger military units. Figure 3 shows
Chinese participation by mission, location and type
of personnel provided in July 2009, when China fell
within the top 20 contributors. 102
585