By Mr. Anton Wishik II
Recent People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy exercises and operations, such as the Gulf of Aden (GOA) anti-piracy deployment, point to an increasing interest in developing a presence in distant seas and expeditionary naval capabilities. The PLA’s ground force exercises, rather than aiming to intimidate others by demonstrating the ability to project power beyond China’s borders, are most relevant to operations within mainland China; transmilitary region exercises contribute to China's deterrence posture by demonstrating a proven ability to project power to repel an attack while People's Armed Police (PAP) exercises and operations reveal increased capabilities to counter terrorism and control civil unrest.