Outspoken China Officers a Challenge to the Party China's government has demanded talks with Japan in their latest dust-up over a set of tiny islands, but a high-ranking Chinese military officer has suggested drastically more belligerent responses. Dispatch hundreds of fishing boats to fight a maritime guerrilla war, says Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan. Turn the uninhabited outcroppings into a bombing range. Rip up World War II peace agreements and seize back the territory, now controlled by Japan but long claimed by China. "A nation without a martial spirit is a nation without hope," Luo declared at an academic forum this month in the southern city of Shenzhen while officials in Beijing continued to urge negotiations. Luo's remarks reflect a challenge for China's leadership from a military increasingly willing to push the limits of the ruling Communist Party's official line on foreign relations, territorial claims and even government reforms. It's a challenge that will need to be carefully managed if a once-a-decade leadership transition beginning Nov. 8 is to go smoothly, with China's global reputation and the party's credibility both at stake. Backed by what is now the world's second-largest military budget behind the U.S., the People's Liberation Army is bristling with new armaments and is becoming increasingly assertive. That has distressed neighbors such as Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, all locked in disputes with China over island territory potentially rich in oil, and has prompted the U.S. to send more military assets to the region. Presiding over this force will be a new generation of military leaders taking power at the same time as the new crop of political leaders. Up to seven of the 10 uniformed members of the Central Military Commission, which oversees the armed forces, are set to retire. Members of the new panel are expected to demand an even greater say in decision making - and a tougher line in disputes with other nations. While President Hu Jintao's absolute command over the armed forces had at time been questioned, his presumed successor - Vice President Xi Jingping - may have an easier time keeping officers on-message because of his closer ties with many top military figures as a fellow "princeling" - those with ties to communist China's founding fathers. He may have to wait, though: Hu will likely seek to hold onto his position as chairman of the military commission for another two years, as his predecessor did. Also, five officers generally considered loyal to Hu were promoted this week to top posts such air force commander and chief of the general staff, meaning they will sit on the new commission once it is appointed next month. Officially, China espouses a "peaceful rise" philosophy that stresses a defensive military posture and the negotiated resolution of disputes. But the PLA's newest generation of ships, submarines, stealth planes and the development of its first aircraft carrier suggest the capability for operations far from home. Hawkish officers such as Luo have a broad audience in the PLA and in a Chinese public that has grown more stridently nationalistic and increasingly impatient with a ruling party seen as bloated, unresponsive and corrupt. Luo, whose father was a top security officer for Mao Zedong, has at times openly questioned the legitimacy of the "peaceful rise" philosophy and warned that it doesn't preclude China from using force to assert its interests.