China's Model Army Our World

The programme contains images which some viewers may find disturbing.

China is seeing a radical transformation of its armed forces.

The biggest in the world. Manpower has been cut by half but the budget

has increased sixfold to well over 100 billion dollars a year. Now, for

the first time, the Chinese army has opened its doors to foreign cameras.

I've been invited to follow two British officers on an exchange

programme with one of China's top military academies. It will be weak

for of challenges. This isn't the usual Friday afternoon. And a rare

glimpse inside an organisation undergoing fundamental change. We

must be strong. Jason Johnston and Richard Levin are

recently commissioned officers with the Royal military Academy at

Sandhurst in the UK. They have arrived in China to take part in

something unprecedented and quite unique. Have you ever been to China?

Though. They are the first British officers ever in fight to take part

in an international cadet exchange, organised by the People's liberation

Army of China. They will spend a week living and working with Chinese

cadets at the PLA University of Science and Technology in Nanjing.

1000 kilometres south of Beijing. It is a good opportunity to experience

something firsthand, especially in a country that is emerging as very

important globally. Richard Levin is 29. He received his commission at

Sandhurst two months ago. He will be sharing this 4`man room with a

21`year`old cadet Lu Jao. You read Harry Potter? In a scene that will

echo throughout the week, he is keen to find out what British cadets at

Sandhurst are allowed to do. 23`year`old Army Air Corps officer

Jason Johnson has been partnered with 21`year`old Chinese cadet Shau

GU. Together, they will take part in a prestigious military competition

late in the week. It will be interesting to know what

other international cadets will be in our team. No pressure!

This international military exchange, here at the People's

Liberation Army University of Science and Technology in Nanjing,

to give you a sense of scale, there are 8000 students here and this is

one of 63 similar enterprises across China. This is the first time

Western TV cameras have been this close to the People's Liberation

Army. When these cadets graduate, they will join an armed force to .3

million strong. The world's large as to. `` 2.3 million.

The university has invited cadets from ten countries. The purpose

ostensibly is to promote cooperation between armies.

The People's Liberation Army was the spearhead of the Communist treasure

elution `` revolution movement that seized power in 1949. Reflecting

that history, it remains technically part of and accountable to the

Communist Party rather than the state. And it was in that role, back

in 1989, that the army was deployed, clearing Tiananmen Square

of student protesters. Images of the incident, seen around the world,

have dominated the way the PLA has been seen by many in the West. Now,

25 years on, China has grown into an economic superpower and its army has

started its own radical transformation.

Are not really awake yet, to be honest. First off, half an hour of

drill. Only then it is time for it breakfast. `` is it time. But the

exercises are far from over. Almost everything is done in formation,

which is not quite how they do things back at Sandhurst. I can't

imagine spending four years of my life marching to Breakfast, lunch

and dinner. That would be a challenge for most people at

Sandhurst. Meanwhile, a canteen is you really quiet.

After breakfast, the cadets are given a tool of the campus

facilities, including the battle simulation room. This might look

like computer games but it is part of their training.

How long have you been doing this? So, this is a new idea? In the last

few years, the PLA has embarked on a sweeping modernisation programme.

According to official figures, its military value has grown from $20

billion in 2002 to a massive $114 billion last year. And many analysts

believe the two figures should be much higher, although Chinese

military spending is still small compared to the US, which spends

nearly four times as much. The money has been spent on the latest weapons

systems. Missiles, fighter jets, drones and even its first aircraft

carrier. In those terms, this is the World's Largest Busk expansion. What

now used to say, the more people you have, the more power you have. ``

Mao. That is the doctrine Chinese military has worked by four long

time. But times are changing. Technology becomes more important

and ways of working and thinking how to change. To allow the PLA to focus

on defence and military matters, internal security is now mostly

dealt with by the police. And, in a departure from previously dominant

military thinking, the PLA has downsized, reducing personnel by

almost half. It's a whole new philosophy. Fewer people, or

technology, greater military efficiency. `` more technology. But

to pull it off, they must first learn how to breed a new type of

salt. `` type of salt. `` soldier. That evening, the cadets are

rewarded with a night out on the town.

But the cadets arrived late to the return meeting point, which does not

go down well. The next morning, the foreign cadets

are taken to one of China's most important memorial sites. This

international military exchange is happening here in Nanjing. That

could not be more significant for many Chinese people, since it is the

scene of one of modern China's most significant military humiliations.

In December, 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army captured Nanjing then

the capital of China. Over the following six weeks, they tortured,

raped and burned their way through the city, killing in the process as

many as 300,000 people. Mostly civilians, men, women and children.

The graphic nature of those images, the act of killing itself, the

killers enjoying what they were doing, it is hard to overestimate

the impact of this event. `` on Chinese sensibilities. That is why

we have such tragedy here... With the massacre at Nanjing and

military failures that led to its still very much in mind, even now,

building a more effective army is a clear priority. And here, the PLA is

seeking lessons from abroad. West point cadet Frank Chen of the

U.S. Army tells me his Chinese hosts have been very keen to find out how

their training compared to his. `` Westpoint. They are keen to know

whether you find it challenging? Yes. Maybe the level of interest

from the Chinese, in what is currently the world's leading

military power, the US, should not be so surprising. As I walk around

the campus, it is obvious. If imitation is the sincerest form of

flattery, the Americans should feel very flattered. Quite a lot of what

you see here oddly looks quite American. The uniforms are quite

American, routine is a quite American. That fascination with and

emulation of American military, however, runs quite a lot deeper

than that. The American and British military is also bring something to

the table, which the Chinese don't have. Recent combat experience. When

you are marching, how do you carry it? Recent wars in Iraq and

Afghanistan have thought British and American forces any tough lessons.

We control it like this, with a rifle ready on the shoulder. If we

needed to fire, with all the way down. The last time China went to

war with another country was a brief conflict in Vietnam. Way back in

1979. The foreign cadets shadow the daily

activities of their Chinese counterparts. Military life

everywhere is highly regimented and so it is in China, only more so. For

Chinese cadets almost every minute of every day is planned and

scheduled. There seems to be very little questioning of why things are

a certain way. The cadets have been told to go pick up leaves, and there

is no why do we have to do that? You just go into it. All cadets are

expected to use their evening hours to study. And at 11pm sharp it is

lights out. It is day five of the exchange and this morning the

Academy is holding a debate. The debts from each country are invited

to speak on a subject of their choice. The biggest difference is

that at Sandhurst we love freedom. It is a team picked up on by one of

the Chinese cadets who asked him about the high levels of discipline

relegated to Chinese cadets. But the answer does not entirely satisfy the

question. More controversially, another student ventures to wonder

about how China should militarily handle its new role as a global

superpower. And so it is that China has more

recently started to flex its more modern military muscles. It is

clashed with neighbours over islands. But it is with Taiwan that

it has the greatest conflict. If the self ruled island ever declares

independence, China has about a response. As China becomes a much

more significant regional and global player, its military is happy to

adapt. But with 2.3 million people, the largest army in the world by

some margin, the question is, are they a threat to Western nations?

This brigadier is the British defenced @ cachet in Beijing. You

want to establish understanding. By doing that you reduce tension. Would

you consider them a threat to British and Western influences? If

we look at the British and Chinese history and their own

foreign`policy, they do not believe in intervention and I think that in

it self gives you the answer. If you look at all the places they operate

in the world apart from their own country, they are interested in

defence. That evening, Richard is invited to

the home of the kernel who is also a professor at the University. ``

colonel. He says the Army has changed dramatically since he

entered it in 1993. What is more, he says, there are lessons to be

learned from abroad. It is the day of the most important

annual Cadet competition. Several military universities from across

China are participating and for the first time ever, foreign cadets have

been invited to compete. This is the international contingent, these two

rows. The competition begins. The first challenge is orienteering.

Jason's teammate need to find and tag electronic checkpoints. His

first task is to secure the area. The parameter of the competition is

that we are at war and have been dropped behind enemy lines. But they

are off to a bad start. The squad leader is struggling to understand

the map. Running out of time, the decide to split into two groups each

responsible for locating half of the electronic tags. The Cadet in charge

is still prevaricating about which way to go next. He took too long. It

back Jason's team managed to locate four of the tags and return to

rendezvous with time to spare. But the other half of the team is

nowhere to be seen. It looks like they have not made it back in time.

Eventually, they do make it back. Jason is starting to realised that

amongst the Chinese cadets in his group, even allowing for their

relative youth, tactical skills often do not match classroom

theory. I think they need to do a bit more practice before they can do

it efficiently. Jason told me that while the exercises were familiar,

they were not as realistic as they might have been back home. In his

view, that comes down to China's lack of recent combat experience. It

is an hour longer at Sandhurst. We deal with casualty and how to get

two helicopters and things like that. Is that what you would do? It

was different in terms of where the helipad is. It was 20 meters away

from where the casualty happened which was not realistic. Later that

evening, the results of the competition are in. The overall

winner of the cup course a first`place with 486 points. For the

young cadets it is a huge personal achievement. Jason's group scored

121 points and came in second to last. Both of our teams did very

poorly. We both had three foreign cadets that were struggling with the

language. It is always good to extend another friendship

particularly as things have gone in the past between both of us. The

exchange week has come to an end. As Jason and Richard prepare to leave

they reflect on their time here and what they have learned about their

Chinese host. In terms of their views on what this place is all

about, still, to me, it seems quite naive. I think after four years they

will have an officership and that is where the change happens. I think

they are at a lower standard physically because they are not

given the responsibility to develop leadership.

These cadets may well one day have leading roles in their country's

armed forces. They have gathered here to understand how their

counterparts think. Invaluable lessons may be and when that China,

with their new model Army, is poised to play a more significant role in,

in terms of world affairs.