(Page 29 of 39) - Measuring Japan in the Military Balance and Evaluating Theories of Japanese Security authored by Lind, Jennifer.

exist about the rise of China. The Chinese have begun developing their naval capabilities and in

the 1990s began pursuing military modernization.

However, these efforts notwithstanding,

Chinese maritime power remains weak. Most of its air forces are antiquated; most of its pilots

are inadequately trained.

As discussed earlier in this paper, the Chinese navy lacks the ability

to protect its vessels from air attack.

Neither North Korea nor Russia has the military power to

rival American military power in the region. Thus since the end of the Cold War, the U.S.-Japan

alliance has enjoyed a favorable balance of power in East Asia.

In sum, for most of the past 50 years, the U.S.-Japan alliance has had a favorable balance

of power over its adversaries in the East Asian theater. In the earlier years of the Cold War

(1950-1975), the coalition enjoyed clear superiority over East Asian adversaries. The balance of

power shifted negatively in the mid-1970s and 1980s as the Soviets increased their military

capabilities, and U.S. balancing was at first nonexistent, and then limited. Finally, since the end

of the Cold War, the power position of the U.S.-Japan alliance has been high relative to any

potential regional adversary.

In earlier eras, the People’s Liberation Navy “clearly languished at the bottom of the priority list of Chinese

military modernization, which was principally focused on nuclear weapons development, the ground forces, and
‘People’s War.’ Under this doctrine, the navy was primarily a coastal interdiction force, built around a large
component of patrol craft.”

Jonathan D. Pollack, James Mulvenon, Derek Eaton, and Ken Gause, “The Future of

Chinese and Japanese Naval Power: Implications for Northeast Asian Maritime Security,” RAND Report, Santa
Monica, Calif., 1998. Scholars have described China’s emerging strategic view as reflecting “an increased concern
with the stability and protection of coastal, offshore, and sea-based material resources, communications routes, and
trade access”; they note that Chinese military procurement reflects this new emphasis. Bates Gill, “Chinese Military
Modernization and Arms Proliferation in the Asia-Pacific,” In China's Shadow: Regional Perspectives on Chinese
Foreign Policy and Military Development (Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND, 1996). Also see Taeho Kim, “Korean
Perspectives on PLA Modernization and the Future East Asian Security Environment,” in In China's Shadow, Ibid.
More generally, military modernization was given a major boost in 1993, attributed to Chinese alarm at the level of
American technology displayed in the Persian Gulf War. Sujit Dutta, “China's Emerging Power and Military Role:
Implications for South Asia,” in In China's Shadow, Ibid. The Chinese defense budget has grown rapidly in the
1990s. It has began modernizing its naval fleet by procuring modern vessels in the early 1990s, and by purchasing
two Sovremenny-class destroyers from Russia in 1996. China has begun modernizing its air force by procuring Su-
27 and Su-30 aircraft from Russia.