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China's Military Modernization: Building for Regional and Global Reach. By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Security International, 2008. 344 pages. $82.95. Reviewed by Dr. Larry M. Wortzel (Colonel, USA Retired), who served two tours of duty as a military attaché at the US Embassy in China.
In this book, Richard Fisher focuses primarily on "hard power," the hardware and military strategies that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is bringing to bear on the Asia-Pacific region and world military affairs. He also does an excellent job discussing the doctrine, training, and operational plans to use this hardware.
For many years, Fisher's main interest in assessing the PLA has been hardware acquisition and systems development. From 1996 to 2008, he attended almost two dozen military exhibitions, gathering information on what China's armed forces displayed and what Chinese defense industries tried to buy from other nations. During the 20 years this reviewer has known Richard Fisher, some China policy specialists have accused him of "hyping" the threat posed by China's weapons and equipment to the United States and its armed forces. For the most part Fisher has been correct in his projections of what the PLA would field and in his discussion of the challenges that such weapon systems pose for the United States and its allies.
Fisher has amassed a solid record related to military systems analysis, considering he has no military service, has not worked in...