■ Mao Tse Tung's Thought - power comes from the barrel of the gun. China is not happy with its puny military power. It wants to become a strong military power. It wants to buy more guns. More guns in Mao Tse-tung's term means more power. If this theory is accepted we can expect China to invest more money on defense in the future;
■ Guerilla warfare's teaching - retreat when weak, advance only when strong. China's external military policy is likely to take this dictum into account;
■ There could be only one tiger in the same jungle. In terms of understanding regional politics, this is important to bear in mind. That sole tiger is China. Beijing does not want competition.
I believe these philosophies still pervade in China. While China has no permanent enemies in the region, it will have some rivals like Japan, US and Russia to contend with in global arena. But the current situation demands that it maintains friendly relations with all its rivals. This is only a strategic convenience ala Mao Tse Tung - ... when you are weak, you cannot be assertive or overtly ambitious.
China will have some problems with Washington - because of its;
■ Human right policy;
■ Taiwan policy;
■ Its perception of US-Japan Treaty;
■ Its perception of US-Korea strategic relationship;
■ Its trade policy with the US. At the moment, the US runs a chronic balance of payment deficit against China;
■ China still believe the US is all out to contain it militarily. This containment policy is a strategic perception that will not go away.
