By Chen Meihua | 2025-09-04

As the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has modernized into a more capable global force, it has significantly expanded its international military engagement in support of Beijing's foreign policy objectives.

Military diplomacy has become a vital tool of Chinese statecraft, serving both strategic and operational purposes: shaping the international environment in Beijing's favor, laying groundwork for future overseas access and enabling intelligence gathering and operational learning from foreign militaries, according to a recent report issued by the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) in Washington.

"The PLA's engagement of foreign militaries, including key US allies and partners, is an increasingly important arena of US-China strategic competition at the global and regional levels," the study, "China's Military Diplomacy," stated.

Published in late June, the report examined PLA military diplomacy from 2002 to 2024, based on newly published analytical materials and a US National Defense University database. The study focused on three primary areas: senior-level visits, naval port calls and joint exercises.

Southeast Asia focus

"Southeast Asia has emerged as a battleground for US-China competition in military diplomacy," the report said, with Asia as China's top regional focus, followed by Europe. Africa is far behind in third place.

"China's military diplomacy with Southeast Asian countries not only projects an image of regional cooperation but also serves as a tool for intelligence collection and promoting its sovereignty narrative," Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, told Focus.

China's approach emphasizes "establishing cognitive boundaries," particularly on issues such as the South China Sea and Taiwan, he said. This tactic plays out in China's engagement in multilateral security forums, where Beijing articulates its positions. The approach combines strategic communication, narrative control and, at times, subtle elements of deterrence.

Within Asia, South Asia is China's second priority (behind Southeast Asia) for military diplomacy. China views Pakistan as a key partner because of its reliance on Chinese security support against India and its military's extensive combat experience.

In addition to arms supplies to Pakistan, China has strengthened cooperation with Russia through joint exercises and exchanges.

This trilateral partnership boosts China's combat readiness and serves as a counterweight to the United States, potentially diverting US and NATO focus from East Asia amid ongoing conflicts like India-Pakistan or Russia-Ukraine.

Multilateral engagement

Senior-level visits remain the most common form of PLA military diplomacy, said the INSS. Since 2009, China has hosted significantly more visiting delegations than it has sent abroad, reflecting growing acceptance of engagement on China's terms.

In recent years, China has adopted US-style "2+2" meetings, involving both defense officials and diplomats, with partners such as South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia. These dialogues are designed to improve coordination between security and diplomatic policy channels.

China's multilateral presence has increased.

Historically concerned by the challenges of narrative control at multilateral forums, the PLA now regularly attends and even hosts such gatherings, including those under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), ASEAN and the Shangri-La Dialogue.

These forums allow China to amplify its strategic messaging, legitimize its role in regional security architectures and shape discussions on its own terms.

Incentives for forum participation

The PLA's participation in multilateral military forums continues to grow, the report said.

The INSS cited three reasons for the PLA to seek out such forums: "solve intergovernmental coordination problems and ... influence security cooperation in areas where Beijing has interests at stake," enable "Chinese strategic messaging" and "advance Chinese bilateral goals on the margins of the meetings."

However, the practical impact of Chinese military diplomacy remains limited, particularly at the tactical and operational levels, the INSS said.

For the United States, the key is not to cut off all exchanges with the PLA but to ensure that such engagements do not translate into strategic advantages or military gains for China.

Port calls and exercises

Naval port calls have fallen off since the establishment of China's overseas base in Djibouti. Port calls by China peaked in 2017, but the pandemic caused a sharp decline in 2020, with recovery continuing through 2024.

Military exercises, primarily bilateral but increasingly multilateral, are central to China's diplomatic outreach. Notable examples include the recurring SCO Peace Mission drill and Pakistan's Aman exercises, which often focus on nontraditional security issues like disaster relief.

That softer focus boosts China's image as a responsible global actor.