ABSTRACT
In China, any discussion of the use of force is a politically sensitive research question. This chapter discusses China’s use of force into two issue areas. The first one is China’s use of force in the traditional security field, and the cases are several wars and international crises since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. The second issue area is in the non-traditional security field. The study of China’s use of force or of China’s wars in the traditional security field focuses on cases such as the Korean War, the Sino-Indian Border War, the Sino-Vietnam War, and the Sino-Soviet Zhenbaodao dispute. Strategic culture is one of the most important factors influencing the strategic choice of the use of force. Compared with the few and dismissed studies of China’s use of force, the debate about Chinese strategic culture is more intensive and focused, and the arguments put forward by the cultural, military, and international relations schools are very diverse.
