China's Maritime Dilemma

China marked the 80th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) with fanfare, foreign media visits to military bases and newspaper and magazine articles praising the army and its role in preserving the nation. Behind the public celebrations, however, there is a serious debate taking place on the future of China's strategic environment — one that pits the PLA's traditional focus on land-based security threats against the new attention to the maritime sphere.