The CMC Leads The Way…
Well, China’s CMC is apparently staying quite active these days. No real surprise there, I guess. Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe recently met with Royal Thai Army Commander-in-Chief, Apirat Kongsompong, stating the two peoples are like “one family.” Then 10 days ago, the Chief of the CMC Joint Staff Department met with US Admiral John Richardson, Chief of US Naval Operations. And while apparently the chat went amicably, with this General Li asserting the two countries share much in common while advocating positive military-to-military relations, he stressed that Taiwan & SCS issues are China’s internal affairs & its core interests, going on to (re)state that the PLA will do “whatever it takes” to safeguard “national reunification, national sovereignty & territorial integrity.” (Of course, interpreting fluid concepts such as “territorial integrity” has been something of a successful job creator for many in the West, as well as a few people in E/SE Asia as well…)
Meanwhile, days later, the Laotian president, Bounnhang Vorachit, met another CMC leader, Admiral Miao Hua, & subsequently expressed “gratitude” for China’s longtime support. On the same day, General Wei met with Singapore’s Secretary of Defense, Chan Yeng Kit, agreeing to “deepen defense exchanges & expand cooperation.” Finally, two days ago, General Wei met with Australia’s Minister of Defense, Christopher Pyne. Wei expressed appreciation for their military “defense cooperation” while Pyne said his country is “ready to deepen mutual understanding, trust & respect” with China.
Whew! A whole lot of good will has been flung around China & its planetary neighbors lately. One thing you can say for the CMC: that’s an organization that knows how to get & stay busy, that has always excelled at communication skills, while also expressing good will & appreciation. Of course, the CMC oversees numerous professionals who are experts in countless skills, many so obvious that they need not be mentioned here further. I’m merely glad I’m not one of their schedulers. (All of these details may be found on the CMC’s own website: https://eng.chinamil.com.cn/cmc/node_86686.htm.)
Ah! I nearly forgot. The Chinese military is also justifiably proud of its recent successful completion of a MINUSMA task PLA engineers/peacekeepers shared with a Senegalese peacekeeping force in the hot spot of Mali, culminating in the building of 15 new tents. The CMC is so proud of this honorable accomplishment, it’s listed as the “Most Viewed” news topic on the PLA site this weekend. (https://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2019-01/25/content_9414183.htm) For those of you who might want more detailed information on this success story or are seeking additional inspirational revelations, the PLA can always be reached at [email protected].
Scott Holstad, COO, CTO
WireMe Designs, LLC
January 26, 2019