China’s rise on the world stage has been relentless and consistent over the past two decades. This rise is concurrent with the United States’ perceived decline as an economic power with resultant expectations of waning US influence on the world stage. Today the story of China’s growth has become a subject of avid discussion and analysis not only among world leaders, academicians and members of the strategic community, but even by the print and visual media and sections of the public at large.

Over the last decade, China has been biennially releasing White Papers on National Defence. This book gives out an invaluable Indian critique on China’s national defence policy, nuclear environment, maritime strategy, leap frogging development in space warfare and network centric warfare capabilities with a special reference to the White Paper released in 2010. Above all, it provides a road map on China’s plans to deal with its perceived security challenges.

As China rises, its core issues have expanded from Tibet and Taiwan to the South China Sea, which is a deviation from its professed intentions of a peaceful rise and defence modernisation only for defence. What message is China trying to send ? This book allows the reader to pick out the gaps between professed Chinese intentions and practices on ground, which should lead to a better understanding of China’s rise, particularly for India’s security.