China's air force guards the friendly skies

• Source: Global Times
• [08:51 November 11 2009]
• Comments

Qiao Liang

Editor's Note:

Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force. Major General Qiao Liang (Qiao), a deputy secretary general of China's National Security Policy Committee and deputy director at the political department of China's air force, talks with Global Times (GT) reporter Li Yanjie, on the PLA air force's development strategy and communication with foreign air forces.

GT: The PLA air force has planned an air show to mark the 60th anniversary of its founding. What messages will the air show send out? Could it be misinterpreted as China flaunting its military power?

Qiao: November 11 marks the 60th founding anniversary of the PLA air force.

The air show is to celebrate the anniversary, expressing the air force's joy and pride, and displaying the air force's development in the past 60 years, showing its ability and determination to protect China's sovereignty, safety and territorial integrity.

It's inevitable that some people may misunderstand China's intensions and take the air show as a display of military power.

With China's growing national strength, improving international image and advancing status in the world, China will draw more and more international interest.

Naturally, the air show, as an activity of celebration, will draw the world's attention.

There are also some people interpreting the air show as a display of military power. In fact, ever since its foundation, the PLA air force has never taken the initiative to drop one single bomb in any other country.

The several air combats that the PLA air force had engaged in were all against aggression or for self-defense.

China's military force, including the air force, as President Hu Jintao and the commander of the PLA air force Xu Qiliang said, is defensive in nature.

However, an air force's defensive function is also connected to its offensive capabilities. To defend enemies and other potential adversaries from violating China's sovereignty and territorial air space is China's basic military strategy.

Others' interpretations won't change the PLA air force's strategy of overall defense.

GT: China's air force employs the strategies of air and space integration and the combination of defense and attack. On the future development, General Xu Qiliang said that military competition is shifting into aerospace and military strength is also developing in this area. Xu also said the two trends are historically inevitable and irreversible. His words have stirred up foreign comments. Would you please explain the strategy of air and space integration and introduce the future developing direction of China's air force?

Qiao: Air and space are inseparable in nature. With the development of space technology, the whole world's air forces, including those of big Western countries, are entering the aerospace field.

Now space vehicles densely cover the sky above us. China's air force is lagging behind in this area.

Modern wars are information warfare. Without space-based information, modern wars can hardly be conducted.

Air and space integration means China's air force needs the support of space-based information in combats, instead of launching space wars. Space-based information system includes communication, reconnaissance and navigation. China will only develop defensive means in outer space.

As a big country, it's impossible not to develop an air force in space just to show China's goodwill to the world.

China certainly will develop its air force in space, but China strongly opposes the weaponization of outer space and advocates using and developing outer space peacefully. Peaceful utilization of outer space is a historical inevitability.

China's opposition doesn't mean it will not prepare to deal with threats of foreign space weapons toward China's safety.