For more on the defense white paper, Han Bin earlier spoke exclusively with Senior Colonel Zhou Bo. He's the Director of the Center for International Security Cooperation of the Ministry of National Defense. He says China's rise as a military power is not a threat and that the military will develop in line with its foreign policy of non-interference and self-dependence.  

HAN BIN "This is the third edition of the white paper since Xi Jinping took office and began restructuring. What's the biggest changing role of the PLA, after years of reforms to make it combat ready?"

SR. COLONEL ZHOU BO, DIRECTOR CENTER FOR INTL. SECURITY COOPERATION, CHINESE NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTRY "Well, the role of all the military in the world is territory defense, but what makes PLA different is that it now has two more new roles, that is to protecting China's overseas interest and to safeguarding international peace. Now, China is a global China, and we even have 140 million people going abroad every year, plus we have a huge investment overseas. PLA's motto is to save the people, but in the 21st century, who is the people, it is not only Chinese people, but people of the whole world."

HAN BIN "A lot of people are concerned about this expanding role from serving the country to serving the world, seeing it as a threat. In the white paper, China says it's not seeking dominance. How would you explain this seeming contradiction?"

SR. COLONEL ZHOU BO, DIRECTOR CENTER FOR INTL. SECURITY COOPERATION, CHINESE NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTRY "That is interesting, because if a country becomes strong, people will become fearful of you, but if you look at China's history, in last 40 years, China's military definitely becomes stronger. But the fact is China hasn't used forces against anybody. Nobody would ever deny that China's right is peaceful. So China's role in the world currently is helping the world to become more stabilized, to become more peaceful, and nobody has ever disagreed about this role overseas."

HAN BIN "The PLA navy's shipbuilding has been criticized by some as 'dumplings into broth', meaning producing more warships than it actually needs. How would you explain that the navy's development is not a pursuit of dominance?"

SR. COLONEL ZHOU BO, DIRECTOR CENTER FOR INTL. SECURITY COOPERATION, CHINESE NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTRY "Well, it is true that the PLA navy is developing very fast, but the point is, as to how many ships you need, depends on how many you are going to use them. But currently, China's interest globally, as I have mentioned before, and because there are threats to such interest, and because we have to make sure about international sailings are safe. So that is why we got to build a much stronger and much larger navy."

HAN BIN "Take the escort missions for example. Is it necessary for the PLA navy to send some of its most advanced destroyers and frigates for those blue-water missions?"

SR. COLONEL ZHOU BO, DIRECTOR CENTER FOR INTL. SECURITY COOPERATION, CHINESE NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTRY "Right now, the role has changed, whenever these ships finished the mission in the Gulf of Aden, they would sail around the world in the uncharted water to familiarize themselves with this uncharted water. Counter piracy itself is part of the mission, but the PLA navy's role is much beyond this."

HAN BIN  "When your capabilities grow, people expect you to take on more responsibilities. What are the PLA's plans for its international role?"

SR. COLONEL ZHOU BO, DIRECTOR CENTER FOR INTL. SECURITY COOPERATION, CHINESE NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTRY "It is a role of being helpful rather than policing anything. We do not send troops to fight against anybody until now, that is fundamentally different from some of the roles from the west. Even those people who have some criticism of PLA about its territory disputes with these neighbor countries would never criticize PLA's role overseas."

HAN BIN "How will the army keep to the country's principle of non-interference, in its involvement in operations overseas?"

SR. COLONEL ZHOU BO, DIRECTOR CENTER FOR INTL. SECURITY COOPERATION, CHINESE NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTRY "How to differentiate your involvement from interference, that is a big challenge for us. But I think whatever China will do in the future will be in line with its foreign policy. Because China has a lot of attention to its over sovereignty, therefore, I am sure stronger PLA will equally pay a lot of attention to the sovereignty and the right of other countries."

HAN BIN "Thank you. Thank you very much for your time."