Page 1 of 2 China's man behind the missiles
By Jason Kelly
On October 21, 2005, the Second Artillery Corps of the People's Liberation Army
(PLA) opened its doors for the first time to foreign guests. Donald Rumsfeld,
then secretary of defense, and Peter Rodman, who at the time was serving as US
assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, traveled to
the not-so-secret Second Artillery headquarters in Qinghe, just north of
Beijing, to meet with the commander of China's strategic missile
forces, General Jing Zhiyuan.
The visit consisted of a PowerPoint presentation on the service arm's command
structure and missile forces training as well as a post-briefing discussion
between Rumsfeld and Jing on nuclear doctrine.
During the exchange, General Jing reaffirmed the centrality of the "no first
use" principle to China's nuclear doctrine, which helped to offset some of the
growing concern in US circles over PLA General Zhu Chenghu's comments in Hong
Kong three months earlier. Zhu, a dean at the National Defense University, told
reporters that "if the Americans draw their missiles and precision-guided
ammunitions onto the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to
respond with nuclear weapons".
Jing Zhiyuan's constructive approach to talks with his US guests, as well as
his assertion that his seat on the Central Military Commission (CMC) puts him
"in a position to clarify the issue" of Chinese nuclear doctrine, left a
favorable enough impression on Rumsfeld and Rodman for them to conclude that
General Jing was the type of figure who could serve as a valuable conduit for
military-to-military exchanges between China and the United States.
President George W Bush hoped to keep the momentum running in April 2006 by
extending a formal invitation to President Hu Jintao for General Jing to visit
the US Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska, in the
midwestern US. The idea was to continue the discussions on nuclear doctrine,
strategy, and operations that had begun in Beijing six months earlier. Nearly a
year and a half after Hu accepted the US invitation, however, Jing has yet to
meet with his counterpart, General James Cartwright, and no date had been set
for a visit. As preparations intensify for the upcoming 17th National Congress
of the Chinese Communist Party, General Jing will likely further postpone his
visit.
General Jing's appeal
In light of US efforts to foster transparency and avoid the kind of
misperceptions that can, and have, exacerbated tensions in the bilateral
security relationship, General Jing, a member of the CMC with long experience
in the PLA's strategic missile forces, is an important part of the senior
military mix in Beijing. Jing also stands out among his general colleagues
because the Second Artillery Corps is at the heart of current PLA modernization
efforts. Continued direct contact would provide an important opportunity to
build personal relationships between US and Chinese military officers at the
most senior level. It may also create a new information channel through which
the Pentagon hopes to gain a better understanding of China's strategic missile
forces and perhaps even to influence the perceptions of the top Second
Artillery Corps leadership.
While information on Jing Zhiyuan is sparse, the available facts regarding his
training and professional experience indicate a background steeped in the
missile-related issues that most concern the US Department of Defense. Jing
began his career in the PLA as an artillery soldier in 1963. Following a series
of promotions, he was appointed to command the Second Artillery Base 56 in
Xining, Qinghai Province.
His stint in Qinghai provided direct exposure to strategic missile systems and
their associated operational procedures. Among other missile types, Base 56 is
home to China’s primary regional missile system, the DF-3A, a medium-range
ballistic missile with a range of 3,000 to 4,000 kilometers. Two of Base 56's
affiliated brigades - Delingha and Da Qaidam - are equipped with DF-4 missiles,
the first Chinese ballistic missile type to possess limited intercontinental
ability. At 4,750 km, the range of the DF-4 allows China to target cities and
military facilities throughout the Asia-Pacific and as far away as Alaska.
Jing gained additional experience when he took up the command of Base 52 in
1997. Headquartered at Huangshan, Anhui province, Base 52 is thought to be a
staging area for DF-15 short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), which would be
transported by road or rail to Fujian for launch in the event of a conflict
with Taiwan. These solid-fueled SRBMs are the same missiles that were fired by
the PLA into the waters surrounding Taiwan during the 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait
crisis. Moreover, Anhui province lies within the Nanjing Military Region, which
is the PLA's launching point for a joint air/sea assault on Taiwan.
The two years he spent commanding Base 52 placed Jing on the frontline of PLA
preparation and contingency planning for conflict with the United States over
Taiwan. In addition, the timing of Jing's
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