★★★★★ 5
Globalization greatly increases leverage over opponents
I'm trying to learn more about China. This book was referenced in a book I read by U.S. General Spalding entitled "War Without Rules." The book was written by two Chinese PLA colonels and published in 1999 so it's about a quarter century old. According to General Spalding the book has been read and considered within the U.S. military. I have the paperback and it's 193 pages, not including a short afterword and some information on the authors' backgrounds. It reads fairly well although I did encounter a few places where I wasn't entirely sure what the book was trying to say. I don't know if this was due to translation challenges or it was just me. I got through the book fairly quickly.
My main takeaway was that globalization has offers a potential opponent many more levers to influence the actions of others than simply resorting to kinetic (bombs and bullets) warfare. Economic warfare is certainly possible and in the colonels' view has been resorted to by the West against Asian targets. They view George Soros as a financial terrorist who wreaked havoc on Asian economies in 1998. They describe Soros as a soldier in the wars of tomorrow. Page 191.
The inspiration for the book was the First Gulf War. The lesson that the colonels drew from this war was that it was inadvisable to fight the U.S. in a straight-up kinetic war. Finding other ways to fight the U.S. was mandatory. As I write this in January 2024 I wonder if the Chinese military will follow the colonels or if they will resort to traditional kinetic means of fighting if their leadership decides to take Taiwan.
On page 120 they describe the new model of warfare as combining the battlefield and non-battlefield exemplified by Schwarzkopf and Soros and Bin Laden and some Chinese that I don't recognize. As they say on page 120 "This then is our real hand of cards."
The book also cites a number of Chinese theorists on war, which I think I useful. I've read fairly widely, but my reading has been focused in the West. Also, the authors look at international bodies and how China might use them against the U.S.
On page 164 the book argues that warfare is changing from "bloody massacre" and finding expression in "information warfare, financial warfare, and trade warfare". Look at the U.S. response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The colonels' thoughts are worthy of consideration. On page 110 the book observes "continuous coverage by the modern media which very much strengthens the effects of terrorism."
If the topic interests you, I recommend the book. The book may be 25 years old, but its message is timely.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2024



