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/* Doctrine */
==Doctrine==
===Unrestricted warfare===
Since the publication in 1999 of ''Unrestricted Warfare: Two Air Force Senior Colonels on Scenarios for War and the Operational Art in an Era of Globalization'', by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, it has been understood that hard-line elements within the Chinese National Security community have been envisioning and positioning themselves for war with the USA. As the title suggests, this book subverts the strategic thinking and rules of "old-style warfare”, proposes “new types of warfare” and explores military tactics, strategy and organization in the age of globalization. The “unrestricted” part of “unrestricted warfare” avoids direct military confrontation and seeks instead to conquer through non-kinetic means.
The authors argued that the notion that “national defense being the country’s main security goal is somewhat outdated, at least rather inadequate." Under such circumstances, a country, especially a weak one, must go beyond the limits of "traditional war" in order to win when it is faced with an opponent stronger than itself.
"Traditional war" follows certain rules or boundaries, for example, protections for the civilians and civilian facilities, humanitarian treatment to [[POW]]s, banning the use of [[weapons of mass destruction]], etc. These principles were formally established in a series of international agreements. "Unrestricted warfare" means going beyond the limit, whether it is material, spiritual, ethical or technical; and whether it is called 'range', ‘restriction’, ‘restraint’, ‘boundary’, ‘rules’, ‘law’, ‘limit’, or ‘taboo’ ". In “unrestricted warfare” there is no distinction between "front and rear", "military and civilian”, country and territory. It is not restrained by moral and ethical limits. Any person and any facility can be considered as a military target. In order to achieve the goal, you can do whatever you want.
When all the boundaries of “old-style warfare” are broken, there is only one reality left: the entire human society is treated as a battlefield. There is no doubt that the [[United States]] is the simulated enemy against whom the unrestricted warfare was formulated. The reasoning goes that the Peoples Republic of China, being the weaker party compared with the United States in terms of military technology and power justifies [[tactic]]s described in ''Unrestricted Warfare'', since conventional tactics may not ensure victory against the US.
== History ==
