The Pacific in the strategic thought of the leaders of the People’s Republic of China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34767/SIIP.2022.02.06Keywords:
strategic thought, political leaders, Indo-Pacific, Pacific, China, martime policyAbstract
The idea of a Chinese political presence in the Pacific region, and thus in the seas and oceans, is relatively young. Before the reign of Deng Xiaoping, i.e. until 1978, and since the naval expeditions of Chinese Admiral Zheng He in the 15th century, China was not focused on activity in the Pacific region. This
maritime absence of China thus lasted about 550 years. At that time, China was not striving for naval power. Only the Chinese revolution and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 became the cornerstone of the Chinese
presence in the open seas and small island states of Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. The reformer Deng Xiaoping was the first to recognize the necessity of Chinese policy entering the oceans, but the three leaders who followed him made
milestones, which resulted in the real and hegemonic presence of the PRC in the region. This article presents the evolution of Chinese strategic thought in the face of four Chinese political leaders Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping in the Pacific region.
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