China's military reforms are aimed at expanding its military might from the traditional focus on land territories to maritime influence to protect the nation's strategic interests in a new era, according to an internal reader of China's Central Military Commission obtained by Kyodo News.
If the reforms progress, the reader points to intensifying friction with neighboring countries, including Japan, in the East and South China Seas and elsewhere. It also suggests the willingness of China to overtake the United States in military strength.
The text was published internally by the Central Military Commission in February, for the purpose of spreading President Xi Jinping's "thought on strengthening the armed forces."