{"id":6036,"date":"2016-10-31T09:04:45","date_gmt":"2016-10-31T07:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.military-history.us\/?p=6036"},"modified":"2016-10-31T09:04:45","modified_gmt":"2016-10-31T07:04:45","slug":"book-review-the-dragons-teeth-by-benjamin-lai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.military-history.us\/2016\/10\/book-review-the-dragons-teeth-by-benjamin-lai\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Dragon\u2019s Teeth by Benjamin Lai"},"content":{"rendered":"

[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the author and\/or publisher. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own]<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you pay attention to the goings on in the world and not just the US election news you are well aware that China is a rising power in Asia.\u00a0 China is now not only a commercial power but also an increasingly assertive military power.\u00a0 The Chinese military is opaque at best to most Western observers and it is difficult to gauge its military capability based on what are usually hyperbolic news reports.\u00a0 Therefore, it is somewhat prescient that this volume has appeared now.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Lai\u2019s book The Dragon\u2019s Teeth<\/a> is a realistic and pragmatic look at the current state of the Chinese military.\u00a0 He presents a fact-filled and fairly objective evaluation of where the Chinese military is at, how it got there, and in a final interesting chapter, where it might be going.<\/p>\n

First the stats.\u00a0 It is 258 pages of text divided into 6 topical chapters and an afterword.\u00a0 It includes a voluminous appendix listing all the current weapons in the Chinese inventory as well as a bibliography and index.\u00a0 Finally, there is a plate section containing photos and illustrations.<\/p>\n

The book is organized logically beginning with an introduction of the history of the PLA up to 1949 and post 1949 before going into a discussion of the current state of the various branches of the PLA and the state of indigenous Chinese weapons development.\u00a0 The origins of the modern Chinese military differ greatly from most contemporary militaries and the circumstances and conditions surrounding its formation go far in explaining why it is organized the way it is and why the Chinese strategic outlook is what it is.<\/p>\n

The final chapter and the afterword are perhaps the most interesting of all.\u00a0 The final chapter is a concise, yet explicit analysis of the Chinese strategic outlook. The Chinese, and specifically the Chinese military, does not see the current disputes in the South China Sea and Asia through the same lens as do China\u2019s potential rivals.\u00a0 Many people in the west do not fully appreciate that and this chapter alone makes the book worth reading.\u00a0 The afterword is a more speculative appreciation of where the Chinese expect to be militarily and strategically in the near future.<\/p>\n

The Chinese military is under-studied in the West not through lack of interest, but through lack of good accessible sources.\u00a0 This book is a step in fixing that lack of material.\u00a0 I highly recommend this work to anyone who wants a greater understanding of the Chinese military and the role they play in shaping policy in the PRC.<\/p>\n