ABSTRACT
The task of studying the defence policy of any state is inevitably a difficult one, given the universal preoccupation with secrecy which is so characteristic of the security field. For the Western student of Chinese defence policy the problems are particularly complex. To some observers of contemporary China in October 1949, therefore, the combination of its irredentist claims, Great Power pretentions and its Communist ideology was a portent of aggressive Chinese policies in international relations in future. Chinese operations in Korea between 1950 and 1953 and North Vietnam between 1965 and 1968 provide the main illustrations of the use of Chinese military forces in combat operations in territory clearly outside Chinese borders. An appraisal therefore of all of the cases of direct Chinese military activity in border disputes and assistance to neighbouring governments reveals a pattern of military involvement for limited objectives.
