Interactive Military Modernization in Russia and the PRC

Abstract

This paper discusses on going military reforms in the Russian Armed Forces (RAF) and the People`s Liberation Army (PLA) and tries to determine how these reforms may affect their political relations. It compares the changes in the two countries` armed forces in terms of military doctrines, force posture, weapons development and acquisition, and the use of force or the projected use of force. It asserts that the uneven development in the two military organizations may cause an asymmetry in power relations between these two powers.