Battlepanda: Draft the Chinese?

Battlepanda

Always trying to figure things out with the minimum of bullshit and the maximum of belligerence.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Draft the Chinese?

Why not? It's the only suggested foreign army so far that I can see that has the capacity keep both the Israeli and Hezbollah side in check with deadly force if necessary without suffering a shitstorm back home (can you imagine a German soldier shooting at a Jewish soldier without it becoming some sort of international incident?) Even better, China seems to have been playing its cards right diplomatically speaking around the world lately (exception: with Japan), making it a better fit for the "honest broker" role that is called for.

Just the fact that it won't happen doesn't mean its not a good idea. Rob Farley has more:
The problem is that while deploying a peacekeeping or peacemaking force to Lebanon is a good idea in the abstract, no one knows where the troops will come from. The US cannot supply peacekeepers, and wouldn't want to even if it could. The Europeans seem reluctant. An Arab-led force seems to me a bad idea; there's little reason to believe that Egyptian or Saudi forces will take the initiative in controlling or disarming Hezbollah. This leaves relatively few options (although Indonesia and Malaysia have both offered troops).

In this context, a Chinese led mission looks attractive. The PLA has massive ground forces that aren't doing anything particularly important right now. The Chinese also have relatively good relations with all of the parties concerned, including Israel, Lebanon, Iran, and the Gulf monarchies. With logistical support the Chinese have the capacity to carry out the operation, and can plausibly play the role of honest broker. That's the upside.

Then there's the downside. Why would China ever want to do this? The PLA has engaged in several other peacekeeping missions, including Lebanon and Haiti, but none of a magnitude approaching what would be necessary in southern Lebanon. The capability of the PLA to carry out what might turn into a counter-insurgency operation in unknown. On the one hand, the PLA was born as an insurgency. On the other, Mao's been dead a long time. Moreover, a country retains its status as an "honest broker" by staying as far away as possible from any controversial subject. Beijing might lose diplomatic cred through an extended Lebanese deployment. Finally, there's likely to be considerable Pentagon nervousness about extending the diplomatic and military reach of China, nervousness that might lead the administration to kibosh the whole operation.

Still, it's a thought. The PLA could use some experience in a large operation and, if Beijing is interested in stepping up on the world diplomatic stage, this would be a way to do it. I also doubt that Beijing is as casualty averse as many of the European governments.