xinhui

Init,

There are number of good works done in English about PRC's pattern of use of force, the one done by RAND is free for download off the net.

There is a pattern if one would draw it, that PRC used force in a position of the weak instead of the strong (zraver already hinted at that) when the PRC leadership (Mao/Deng) in a stronger position, they tend to wait.

And, most importantly, they defined victory by political means, not military. Not all actions were successful, some back fired badly, such as the 1954 shelling of Jinmen and the 1996 military ex off Taiwan.

Here are some examples.

Chinese civil war, especially the Manchurian camping: Mao send his under trained fourth field army north (remember, they were not trained to fight conventional warfare at that time) with a purpose to destroy the KMT economy before it has any chance to rebuild by forcing Jiang to print money he does not have to pay for the campaign. At the beginning the fourth field army only numbered 60,000, while Deng’s 2nd field army while less equipped, were numbered above 100,000 ready to strike Central China, the place to get new recruit and food. While Central China could not match northern industrial base of Manchuria, but Mao is in for a long fight and man power is more important to him. Even if KMT would win at Manchuria, they will be extremely overstrained.


Korea,
Again, PRC was the weaker player, they saw an opening and they went for it. While PVA suffered great causalities, Politically speaking, PRC gained a great deal.

India,
PRC viewed itself as the weaker opponent as its history always referenced back to the failure of the Great Leap Forward. Troops of the 18th army group whom were mostly ex-KMT troops had not gotten their paid in months, its commander Hua had no love for Mao, whom was purged during CPCR for speaking against him. The promised farm land of Xinjiang was not the greatest farm land in the world that is for sure.

The 1969 crash with the Soviet Union, one can debate this one, but I think PRC lost more politically then it gained. I would consider that one a counter example.

OOE can fill in with the Sino-Vietnam war of 1984.

As for waiting, the current situation off South China Sea, PRC seems to take a strong stand but prefer to wait; generally speaking, same seems to hold for Taiwan as well.