China expands military partnerships as its shifts focus from inward to outward
China’s perception of how it needs to engage with the world has shifted over time, with it now looking to grow its sphere of influence through its armed forces, according to a military expert.
Veerle Nouwens, the executive director of IISS-Asia, spoke to BFBS Forces News about China's growing military cooperation with other nations, explaining how a country with a historically inward-focused military strategy now seemed to be expanding its horizons.
Ms Nouwens said there had been a shift in strategic thinking in the military that China needs to be able to protect its assets around the world.
Combined military exercises are held for several strategic, operational and diplomatic reasons.
They serve as important tools for enhancing military capabilities, fostering international cooperation and achieving broader geopolitical goals.
In the past six months China has conducted several joint military exercises including with Iran, Tanzania, Mozambique, Cambodia, Laos and Belarus.
According to Ms Nouwens, one of the driving factors is the United States.
"China has seen the US as a country with whom there are extensive military relationships in what China considers its own periphery region, namely the Asia-Pacific," she said.
"So there is a need to engage with regional partners to exert influence, to gain stronger relationships and build that trust with China’s own neighbours as well."
Last month, Chinese and Russian bombers conducted their first joint air patrol over the north Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea near Alaska after declaring it a joint operational area.
Military cooperation between the two nations is nothing new, although it is apparently increasing.
The IISS points out in its Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment publication that "not all combined military exercises are created equal, and different participants assess their values in different ways".
Nato, for example, puts an emphasis on interoperability for members within the alliance.
Whether Russia and China are operating in that way or are simply exercising in parallel is not clear.
Figures collated by IISS show between 2003 and 2022 the US conducted 1,113 joint exercises in the Asia Pacific region, while China conducted just 128.
But China’s expanding military cooperation is contributing to a reshaping of global security dynamics.
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