A history of the military strategy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) involves in part China’s use of force around its periphery; whether that is the Korean War (1950–1953), the Sino-Indian border clash (1962), the Sino-Russian border clash (1969), China’s seizure of islets in the Paracels from South Vietnam (1974), the Sino-Vietnamese border clash (1979) and finally China’s seizure of islets from Vietnam in the Spratlys (1988). A close examination of these campaigns reveals a mixed pattern of strategic signalling, military opportunism, punishing adversaries and bolstering buffer zones around China to accomplish China’s long-term strategic objectives with minimal risk to China itself. Curiously, the PRC embarked on a multi-decade period in which the Chinese did not use large-scale force and initiated a concerted effort at defence modernisation and economic development. This has led to a dramatic transformation of the People’s Liberation Army from a backward force into one of the most modern militaries on the planet.