Military branches: People's Liberation Army (PLA), which includes the
Ground Forces, Navy (includes Marines and Naval Aviation), Air Force,
Second Artillery Corps (the strategic missile force), People's Armed
Police (internal security troops, nominally subordinate to Ministry of
Public Security, but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed
forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA in wartime)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49 : 356,848,321 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males: 196,780,527 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males : 9,872,055 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: the officially announced but suspect figure is 70.2 billion yuan (1995 est.); note - conversion of the defense budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: boundary with India in dispute; disputed sections of the boundary with Russia remain to be settled; boundary with Tajikistan in dispute; short section of the boundary with North Korea is indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan
Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem ______________________________________________________________________