:00:00. > :00:14.The programme contains images which some viewers may find disturbing.
:00:15. > :00:18.China is seeing a radical transformation of its armed forces.
:00:19. > :00:22.The biggest in the world. Manpower has been cut by half but the budget
:00:23. > :00:30.has increased sixfold to well over 100 billion dollars a year. Now, for
:00:31. > :00:33.the first time, the Chinese army has opened its doors to foreign cameras.
:00:34. > :00:37.I've been invited to follow two British officers on an exchange
:00:38. > :00:47.programme with one of China's top military academies. It will be weak
:00:48. > :00:50.for of challenges. This isn't the usual Friday afternoon. And a rare
:00:51. > :00:53.glimpse inside an organisation undergoing fundamental change. We
:00:54. > :01:25.must be strong. Jason Johnston and Richard Levin are
:01:26. > :01:28.recently commissioned officers with the Royal military Academy at
:01:29. > :01:32.Sandhurst in the UK. They have arrived in China to take part in
:01:33. > :01:43.something unprecedented and quite unique. Have you ever been to China?
:01:44. > :01:48.Though. They are the first British officers ever in fight to take part
:01:49. > :01:53.in an international cadet exchange, organised by the People's liberation
:01:54. > :01:56.Army of China. They will spend a week living and working with Chinese
:01:57. > :02:05.cadets at the PLA University of Science and Technology in Nanjing.
:02:06. > :02:08.1000 kilometres south of Beijing. It is a good opportunity to experience
:02:09. > :02:15.something firsthand, especially in a country that is emerging as very
:02:16. > :02:22.important globally. Richard Levin is 29. He received his commission at
:02:23. > :02:32.Sandhurst two months ago. He will be sharing this 4`man room with a
:02:33. > :02:38.21`year`old cadet Lu Jao. You read Harry Potter? In a scene that will
:02:39. > :02:41.echo throughout the week, he is keen to find out what British cadets at
:02:42. > :03:09.Sandhurst are allowed to do. 23`year`old Army Air Corps officer
:03:10. > :03:15.Jason Johnson has been partnered with 21`year`old Chinese cadet Shau
:03:16. > :03:17.GU. Together, they will take part in a prestigious military competition
:03:18. > :03:28.late in the week. It will be interesting to know what
:03:29. > :03:37.other international cadets will be in our team. No pressure!
:03:38. > :03:44.This international military exchange, here at the People's
:03:45. > :03:50.Liberation Army University of Science and Technology in Nanjing,
:03:51. > :03:56.to give you a sense of scale, there are 8000 students here and this is
:03:57. > :03:59.one of 63 similar enterprises across China. This is the first time
:04:00. > :04:07.Western TV cameras have been this close to the People's Liberation
:04:08. > :04:10.Army. When these cadets graduate, they will join an armed force to .3
:04:11. > :04:35.million strong. The world's large as to. `` 2.3 million.
:04:36. > :04:40.The university has invited cadets from ten countries. The purpose
:04:41. > :04:59.ostensibly is to promote cooperation between armies.
:05:00. > :05:07.The People's Liberation Army was the spearhead of the Communist treasure
:05:08. > :05:12.elution `` revolution movement that seized power in 1949. Reflecting
:05:13. > :05:15.that history, it remains technically part of and accountable to the
:05:16. > :05:24.Communist Party rather than the state. And it was in that role, back
:05:25. > :05:29.in 1989, that the army was deployed, clearing Tiananmen Square
:05:30. > :05:35.of student protesters. Images of the incident, seen around the world,
:05:36. > :05:44.have dominated the way the PLA has been seen by many in the West. Now,
:05:45. > :05:46.25 years on, China has grown into an economic superpower and its army has
:05:47. > :05:52.started its own radical transformation.
:05:53. > :06:12.Are not really awake yet, to be honest. First off, half an hour of
:06:13. > :06:21.drill. Only then it is time for it breakfast. `` is it time. But the
:06:22. > :06:25.exercises are far from over. Almost everything is done in formation,
:06:26. > :06:33.which is not quite how they do things back at Sandhurst. I can't
:06:34. > :06:38.imagine spending four years of my life marching to Breakfast, lunch
:06:39. > :06:40.and dinner. That would be a challenge for most people at
:06:41. > :06:59.Sandhurst. Meanwhile, a canteen is you really quiet.
:07:00. > :07:05.After breakfast, the cadets are given a tool of the campus
:07:06. > :07:08.facilities, including the battle simulation room. This might look
:07:09. > :07:13.like computer games but it is part of their training.
:07:14. > :07:26.How long have you been doing this? So, this is a new idea? In the last
:07:27. > :07:30.few years, the PLA has embarked on a sweeping modernisation programme.
:07:31. > :07:36.According to official figures, its military value has grown from $20
:07:37. > :07:40.billion in 2002 to a massive $114 billion last year. And many analysts
:07:41. > :07:46.believe the two figures should be much higher, although Chinese
:07:47. > :07:50.military spending is still small compared to the US, which spends
:07:51. > :07:54.nearly four times as much. The money has been spent on the latest weapons
:07:55. > :08:00.systems. Missiles, fighter jets, drones and even its first aircraft
:08:01. > :08:09.carrier. In those terms, this is the World's Largest Busk expansion. What
:08:10. > :08:15.now used to say, the more people you have, the more power you have. ``
:08:16. > :08:20.Mao. That is the doctrine Chinese military has worked by four long
:08:21. > :08:23.time. But times are changing. Technology becomes more important
:08:24. > :08:30.and ways of working and thinking how to change. To allow the PLA to focus
:08:31. > :08:36.on defence and military matters, internal security is now mostly
:08:37. > :08:38.dealt with by the police. And, in a departure from previously dominant
:08:39. > :08:44.military thinking, the PLA has downsized, reducing personnel by
:08:45. > :08:48.almost half. It's a whole new philosophy. Fewer people, or
:08:49. > :08:56.technology, greater military efficiency. `` more technology. But
:08:57. > :08:58.to pull it off, they must first learn how to breed a new type of
:08:59. > :10:08.salt. `` type of salt. `` soldier. That evening, the cadets are
:10:09. > :10:15.rewarded with a night out on the town.
:10:16. > :10:19.But the cadets arrived late to the return meeting point, which does not
:10:20. > :10:50.go down well. The next morning, the foreign cadets
:10:51. > :10:53.are taken to one of China's most important memorial sites. This
:10:54. > :10:59.international military exchange is happening here in Nanjing. That
:11:00. > :11:03.could not be more significant for many Chinese people, since it is the
:11:04. > :11:09.scene of one of modern China's most significant military humiliations.
:11:10. > :11:25.In December, 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army captured Nanjing then
:11:26. > :11:31.the capital of China. Over the following six weeks, they tortured,
:11:32. > :11:34.raped and burned their way through the city, killing in the process as
:11:35. > :11:48.many as 300,000 people. Mostly civilians, men, women and children.
:11:49. > :11:55.The graphic nature of those images, the act of killing itself, the
:11:56. > :12:00.killers enjoying what they were doing, it is hard to overestimate
:12:01. > :12:05.the impact of this event. `` on Chinese sensibilities. That is why
:12:06. > :12:20.we have such tragedy here... With the massacre at Nanjing and
:12:21. > :12:23.military failures that led to its still very much in mind, even now,
:12:24. > :12:27.building a more effective army is a clear priority. And here, the PLA is
:12:28. > :12:55.seeking lessons from abroad. West point cadet Frank Chen of the
:12:56. > :13:05.U.S. Army tells me his Chinese hosts have been very keen to find out how
:13:06. > :13:12.their training compared to his. `` Westpoint. They are keen to know
:13:13. > :13:19.whether you find it challenging? Yes. Maybe the level of interest
:13:20. > :13:21.from the Chinese, in what is currently the world's leading
:13:22. > :13:26.military power, the US, should not be so surprising. As I walk around
:13:27. > :13:30.the campus, it is obvious. If imitation is the sincerest form of
:13:31. > :13:36.flattery, the Americans should feel very flattered. Quite a lot of what
:13:37. > :13:39.you see here oddly looks quite American. The uniforms are quite
:13:40. > :13:44.American, routine is a quite American. That fascination with and
:13:45. > :13:50.emulation of American military, however, runs quite a lot deeper
:13:51. > :13:53.than that. The American and British military is also bring something to
:13:54. > :14:02.the table, which the Chinese don't have. Recent combat experience. When
:14:03. > :14:05.you are marching, how do you carry it? Recent wars in Iraq and
:14:06. > :14:10.Afghanistan have thought British and American forces any tough lessons.
:14:11. > :14:15.We control it like this, with a rifle ready on the shoulder. If we
:14:16. > :14:21.needed to fire, with all the way down. The last time China went to
:14:22. > :14:23.war with another country was a brief conflict in Vietnam. Way back in
:14:24. > :14:33.1979. The foreign cadets shadow the daily
:14:34. > :14:39.activities of their Chinese counterparts. Military life
:14:40. > :14:51.everywhere is highly regimented and so it is in China, only more so. For
:14:52. > :15:04.Chinese cadets almost every minute of every day is planned and
:15:05. > :15:12.scheduled. There seems to be very little questioning of why things are
:15:13. > :15:18.a certain way. The cadets have been told to go pick up leaves, and there
:15:19. > :15:30.is no why do we have to do that? You just go into it. All cadets are
:15:31. > :15:47.expected to use their evening hours to study. And at 11pm sharp it is
:15:48. > :15:54.lights out. It is day five of the exchange and this morning the
:15:55. > :15:56.Academy is holding a debate. The debts from each country are invited
:15:57. > :16:13.to speak on a subject of their choice. The biggest difference is
:16:14. > :16:21.that at Sandhurst we love freedom. It is a team picked up on by one of
:16:22. > :16:32.the Chinese cadets who asked him about the high levels of discipline
:16:33. > :16:55.relegated to Chinese cadets. But the answer does not entirely satisfy the
:16:56. > :17:00.question. More controversially, another student ventures to wonder
:17:01. > :17:02.about how China should militarily handle its new role as a global
:17:03. > :17:33.superpower. And so it is that China has more
:17:34. > :17:40.recently started to flex its more modern military muscles. It is
:17:41. > :17:48.clashed with neighbours over islands. But it is with Taiwan that
:17:49. > :17:53.it has the greatest conflict. If the self ruled island ever declares
:17:54. > :17:58.independence, China has about a response. As China becomes a much
:17:59. > :18:06.more significant regional and global player, its military is happy to
:18:07. > :18:10.adapt. But with 2.3 million people, the largest army in the world by
:18:11. > :18:17.some margin, the question is, are they a threat to Western nations?
:18:18. > :18:26.This brigadier is the British defenced @ cachet in Beijing. You
:18:27. > :18:32.want to establish understanding. By doing that you reduce tension. Would
:18:33. > :18:38.you consider them a threat to British and Western influences? If
:18:39. > :18:41.we look at the British and Chinese history and their own
:18:42. > :18:47.foreign`policy, they do not believe in intervention and I think that in
:18:48. > :18:54.it self gives you the answer. If you look at all the places they operate
:18:55. > :18:56.in the world apart from their own country, they are interested in
:18:57. > :19:26.defence. That evening, Richard is invited to
:19:27. > :19:41.the home of the kernel who is also a professor at the University. ``
:19:42. > :19:50.colonel. He says the Army has changed dramatically since he
:19:51. > :19:53.entered it in 1993. What is more, he says, there are lessons to be
:19:54. > :20:30.learned from abroad. It is the day of the most important
:20:31. > :20:32.annual Cadet competition. Several military universities from across
:20:33. > :20:38.China are participating and for the first time ever, foreign cadets have
:20:39. > :20:50.been invited to compete. This is the international contingent, these two
:20:51. > :21:00.rows. The competition begins. The first challenge is orienteering.
:21:01. > :21:07.Jason's teammate need to find and tag electronic checkpoints. His
:21:08. > :21:12.first task is to secure the area. The parameter of the competition is
:21:13. > :21:18.that we are at war and have been dropped behind enemy lines. But they
:21:19. > :21:23.are off to a bad start. The squad leader is struggling to understand
:21:24. > :21:28.the map. Running out of time, the decide to split into two groups each
:21:29. > :21:34.responsible for locating half of the electronic tags. The Cadet in charge
:21:35. > :21:45.is still prevaricating about which way to go next. He took too long. It
:21:46. > :21:55.back Jason's team managed to locate four of the tags and return to
:21:56. > :21:59.rendezvous with time to spare. But the other half of the team is
:22:00. > :22:19.nowhere to be seen. It looks like they have not made it back in time.
:22:20. > :22:23.Eventually, they do make it back. Jason is starting to realised that
:22:24. > :22:27.amongst the Chinese cadets in his group, even allowing for their
:22:28. > :22:34.relative youth, tactical skills often do not match classroom
:22:35. > :22:46.theory. I think they need to do a bit more practice before they can do
:22:47. > :22:50.it efficiently. Jason told me that while the exercises were familiar,
:22:51. > :22:55.they were not as realistic as they might have been back home. In his
:22:56. > :23:04.view, that comes down to China's lack of recent combat experience. It
:23:05. > :23:08.is an hour longer at Sandhurst. We deal with casualty and how to get
:23:09. > :23:20.two helicopters and things like that. Is that what you would do? It
:23:21. > :23:24.was different in terms of where the helipad is. It was 20 meters away
:23:25. > :23:35.from where the casualty happened which was not realistic. Later that
:23:36. > :23:44.evening, the results of the competition are in. The overall
:23:45. > :23:51.winner of the cup course a first`place with 486 points. For the
:23:52. > :23:58.young cadets it is a huge personal achievement. Jason's group scored
:23:59. > :24:07.121 points and came in second to last. Both of our teams did very
:24:08. > :24:10.poorly. We both had three foreign cadets that were struggling with the
:24:11. > :24:15.language. It is always good to extend another friendship
:24:16. > :24:24.particularly as things have gone in the past between both of us. The
:24:25. > :24:28.exchange week has come to an end. As Jason and Richard prepare to leave
:24:29. > :24:35.they reflect on their time here and what they have learned about their
:24:36. > :24:42.Chinese host. In terms of their views on what this place is all
:24:43. > :24:52.about, still, to me, it seems quite naive. I think after four years they
:24:53. > :24:59.will have an officership and that is where the change happens. I think
:25:00. > :25:02.they are at a lower standard physically because they are not
:25:03. > :25:36.given the responsibility to develop leadership.
:25:37. > :25:46.These cadets may well one day have leading roles in their country's
:25:47. > :25:51.armed forces. They have gathered here to understand how their
:25:52. > :26:00.counterparts think. Invaluable lessons may be and when that China,
:26:01. > :26:02.with their new model Army, is poised to play a more significant role in,
:26:03. > :26:14.in terms of world affairs.