BEIJING -- It has become apparent that the Chinese government will shelve any announcement of a military white paper in 2018, having abandoned a pattern of biennial releases since it last did so in 2015.
Such a move would further decrease transparency regarding the Chinese military, which has been in a continuous buildup.
China has announced its military white papers about every other year since it first released one in 1998. The papers, which are available both inside and outside of the country, present the country's military strategies along with outlines of its equipment. The white paper released in 2013 included the sizes of its land, sea and air forces. The latest 2015 paper, however, saw no mention of data and other sources, and was viewed as a step backward in transparency. Even so, sources engaging in Japan-U.S. relations have concluded that China's white papers have "acted as a barometer for measuring the transparency of the Chinese military."
A source from China's defense ministry told The Yomiuri Shimbun in mid-December, "A white paper is supposed to announce the achievement of our military constructions, and it's not appropriate to make an announcement while our defense and military reform is halfway through."
The source indicated that it has not been decided whether China would release the next white paper within 2019. The "military reform" refers to the restructuring of China's armed forces announced in February 2016, in which seven domestic military area commands were regrouped into five theater commands, with air, sea and ground forces working together with its strategic missile force.
The reform was launched under the prodding of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who also is the chairman of the Communist Party of China Central Military Commission. Xi's aim has been a "military capable of fight."
According to China military sources, sectionalism in land, sea and air forces is strongly rooted, and trouble has arisen within some units regarding the chain of command. Such trouble has caused delays in the military reform, ostensibly contributing to the government's decision to not announce a military white paper this year.
China's Global Times newspaper reported Thursday that the country's first domestically built aircraft carrier, which is under construction at a Dalian shipyard in Liaoning Province, underwent its fourth sea trial. The carrier will be commissioned next year and has been reported on frequently in the media, although most of the updates are not officially sourced or come from military websites.
Russian media has reported that the Chinese military has successfully tested the advanced S-400 air defense system imported from Russia in December. However, a Chinese defense ministry spokesperson said at a regular press conference held Thursday for Chinese and foreign media that the ministry "is not aware of" such a test.
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