| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
THE U.S. National Intelligence Council forecasts that China will become the world's largest economy (measured by purchasing-power parity) in 2022. Jane's predicts that by 2015 People's Liberation Army (PLA) funding will double to $238 billion, surpassing that of NATO's eight largest militaries after the United States combined. The International Institute for Strategic Studies says that China's defense spending might surpass America's as early as 2025. Even if these projections prove exaggerated, economic, technical and industrial activity of an amazing scope and intensity is already affording China potent military capabilities. This is especially the case when such capabilities are applied-most likely through peacetime deterrence, or a limited skirmish with a neighbor such as Vietnam-to the "near seas" (the Yellow, East China and South China Seas), currently a major Chinese strategic focus.
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