What's With The Relationship Between America's Army and China's PLA. AnExamination of the Terms of the U.S. Army's Strategic Peace-Time Engagement with the PLA of the PRC

摘要

The U.S. Army has recently been asked by the Secretary of Defense to look into re-establishing the Sino-American army-to-army ties which had been suspended in 1989 in response to the Tiananmen incident. There are, however, some who question the value of renewing military ties with the Chinese based on the limited U.S. gains from the earlier relationship. Furthermore, major changes in the domestic and international political environments make the Army's re-engagement somewhat problematic. Additionally, reductions in manpower, money, and materiel, when taken together with growing worldwide demand for the attention and/or intervention of the U.S. military, make the cost effectiveness of investing in a relationship with a country that still harbors significant distrust of U.S. strategic intentions rather questionable. Before re-establishing military ties with the PLA, America's Army owes itself a detailed look at the cost benefits and risks of this engagement. This study was undertaken to contribute to and support that process.