Military Power of the People's Republic of China is a publication of the United States Department of Defense that provides an estimation of the military power and strategy of the People's Republic of China.
The Defense Department is required to annually produce and issue the report under Section 1202 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106-65.)
The 2006 report notes that the Chinese military has expanded its presence in the area of the Taiwan Strait and that the balance of forces is "shifting in the mainland's favor." It also states that the Chinese military budget has grown significantly, although is not keeping pace with overall government expenditures.
Based on the report, Slate magazine writer Fred Kaplan called the Chinese military a "paper tiger" that is responsible for "about a quarter of the Pentagon's budget."
Famous quotes containing the words military, power, people, republic and/or china:
“Stately as a galleon, I sail across the floor,
Doing the military two-step, as in the days of yore.”
—Joyce Grenfell (1910–1979)
“It has been the struggle between privileged men who have managed to get hold of the levers of power and the people in general with their vague and changing aspirations for equality, for justice, for some kind of gentler brotherhood and peace, which has kept that balance of forces we call our system of government in equilibrium.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“Socialists make the mistake of confusing individual worth with success. They believe you cannot allow people to succeed in case those who fail feel worthless.”
—Kenneth Baker (b. 1934)
“I date the end of the old republic and the birth of the empire to the invention, in the late thirties, of air conditioning. Before air conditioning, Washington was deserted from mid-June to September.... But after air conditioning and the Second World War arrived, more or less at the same time, Congress sits and sits while the presidents—or at least their staffs—never stop making mischief.”
—Gore Vidal (b. 1925)
“The awakening of the people of China to the possibilities under free government is the most significant, if not the most momentous, event of our generation.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)