Much Ado about Nothing: Middle Eastern Perceptions of the ‘China Threat’

Apparently, those who subscribe to the ‘China threat’ theory are primarily concerned about its regional implications in East Asia. Many of them agree that Beijing may (now or soon) have both the capabilities and the incentives to ‘threaten’ its neighbours. Others, who closely watch China’s defence modernisation progress and arms proliferation record, consider the People’s Republic of China (PRC) a potential, if not an actual, global threat. They admit that while it does not (as yet) possess effective strategic military capabilities to ‘threaten’ others far away, China may develop power projection capacity in the long run. In the short run, Beijing is allegedly using a small number of proxies, not only to deliver a message or to teach a lesson, but also to make indirect and implicit remote control threats. Such proxies include North Korea, Pakistan, Myanmar (Burma), Iran and a few other Middle Eastern governments.