Category: Military Capability

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192: CHINA: OBJECTIVES, STRATEGY AND MILITARY ROLE

China: National Political Objectives

Like any other nation Chinese national political objectives can be broken into two basic categories: security and development. According to USA these objectives would include the following:

 

Security objectives would include:

  • Protection of the CPC as China’s ruling party.
  • Protection of Chinese sovereignty.
  • Protection of borders.
  • Internal security
  • Nuclear deterrence.

 

Development objectives would include:

  • Protection of Chinese economic interests at home and abroad.
  • Ensuring freedom of navigation for Chinese goods.
  • Procuring important commodities such as energy and raw materials.
  • Establishing new export markets for Chinese goods.

 

Chinese Grand Strategy

China end state desire is to achieve a world power status.

 

Incremental Approach. China views this final objective as incremental: it seeks to be a “prosperous society” by 2035, with the CPC still remaining the dominant political entity in China. The country desires to transition to a “leading world power” by the year 2049 (the centennial anniversary of the country’s founding), complete with a “world-class military.” These objectives are written into the CPC Constitution.

 

Towards this aim, smaller goals could be:

  • Global influence.
  • Economic development.
  • Internal security.
  • CPC primacy.

 

Chinese Strategic Objectives

China’s strategic objectives support her broad political goals dominance by 2035 and becoming a leading world power by 2049. They are also influenced by certain elements of Chinese culture and history: the importance of status and honor, the desire for peace through power, and the belief in Chinese Communism, among other aspects.

 

Chinese strategic objectives and involvement of PLA is as follows:

  1. Maintain Internal Security And Stability. Foremost in maintaining internal security and stability is ensuring the position of the CPC as the dominant political entity in China. PLA is the military components of the government. While maintaining domestic stability is the primary mission of the civilian police force and Peoples Armed Police (PAP), in extreme situations the PLA may be required to assist these forces in internal security operations.

 

  1. SECURE AND PROTECT LAND BORDERS AND COASTLINES. China’s long historic struggle with border security manifests itself today in a vast array of border security measures. Even China’s shared border with India is a source of friction and conflict. PLA needs to be geared up to meet these situations.

 

  1. Maintain Regional Stability. China feels maintaining regional peace and stability is a one of its responsibility as a regional dominant Force. This requires the PLA to be capable of conducting shaping and deterrence operations in the region.

 

  1. MAINTAIN FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION. China’s economy is largely dependent on exports, most of which travel via the world’s oceans. Maintaining safe and free passage through the international waters is necessary for Chinese political stability and economic development. Expeditionary capability would be required for this.

 

  1. RESOLVE MARITIME TERRITORIAL DISPUTES. China views several land masses and their surrounding territorial waters in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the Pacific as strategically important. Their importance is derived from their proximity to important global shipping lanes, and also their potential usefulness as military bases (particularly for naval and coast guard ships, fixed-wing aircraft, antisubmarine warfare capabilities, and land-based antiaircraft and ant ship missile systems).

 

  1. ESTABLISH POSITIVE CONDITIONS FOR POTENTIAL HOSTILITIES. China views conflict along a continuum, ranging from steady-state deterrence operations in peacetime (Grey Zone) to full-fledged combat operations. While China has mastered the art of grey zone operations, it is also expanding on overseas basing for the PLA, enabling force projection outside of Chinese borders and giving Chinese leadership greater flexibility in choosing how and where to employ military force.

 

Chinese Objectives and Military involvement

  • China’s history is deeply intertwined with its military.

 

  • Relationship between the PLA and the Communist Party of China (CPC) is a complex one.

 

  • In contrast to Western militaries, the PLA is deeply politicized.

 

  • While Western militaries are generally apolitical and are divorced from political parties, the PLA is officially the armed wing of the CPC.

 

  • It retains significant ties to Maoist and Marxist-Leninist political thought and has generations-deep connections with the CPC.

 

  • Today, with the primacy of the CPC virtually assured and few internal security threats, the People’s Armed Police (PAP) has taken over much of the internal security mission, while the PLA focuses primarily on development-related external objectives.

 

Military Modernisation

Historically, the PLA had little to no expeditionary capability, minimal mechanization, low-technology systems, and a severe lack of military professionalism.

 

Chinese Objectives and strategy requires a significant enhancement of PLA capabilities.

 

Chinese objectives require meaningful force projection capabilities:

  • A blue-water navy.
  • A modern air force.
  • Long-range targeting and strike capabilities.
  • Enhanced long-range air and sea strategic lift capabilities.
  • Well-trained, well-equipped, professional ground force.

 

Military modernization with economic development is a basic tenet of Chinese national strategy. This has guided the significant increase in annual defence budget for the past two decades.

 

This principle is now manifesting in China’s Military-Civil Fusion program, which seeks greater cooperation between military and civilian elements in achieving shared objectives. An important objective of Military-Civil Fusion is leveraging civilian assets and capabilities as a cost-efficient method of managing limited military resources.

 

Due to one of the largest and longest economic growth cycles in history, China has been able to fund the reform and development of the PLA, modernizing it over the last three decades from a force of poorly armed and poorly trained conscripts into a viable modern military.

 

Bottom Line

China is marching ahead at a very rapid pace.

 

Question

Are we gearing up to meet future challenges?

 

Suggestions and value additions are most welcome

 

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References:

https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN33195-ATP_7-100.3-000-WEB-1.pdf

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173: Why is China’s Western Theatre Command so Big in Size?

In China Party (CPC) owns the PLA.

The Party uses PLA to rule the country.

Answer to the question lies in the pictures below

      China Population Map                       China Theatre Command Map

Pictures courtesy net

Do you agree with this theory?

Comments and views on the subject are most welcome

 

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171: Flavours of China’s Military Reforms

China has given priority to translate science and technology achievements into military capabilities.

 

China’s military capability enhancements in the new era are characterized by an emphasis on new security domains.

 

On the one hand China has improved its long-distance force projection and precision strike capabilities in the respective domains of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force.

 

On the other hand, it has attached importance to new security domains, such as space, cyber, electromagnetic, and Information, as key fields for influencing the fate of future warfare.

 

China aims to overtake developed country’s militaries by making concentrated investments in state-of-the-art technologies and deepening military-civil fusion.

 

It hopes to achieve superiority in these fields and thereby overturn its inferiority in overall military capabilities.

 

China has already achieved the status of a major military power by 2021 (100th anniversary of its founding Chinese Communist Party).

 

The Xi Jinping administration has set ambitious goals to further establish China as a global power by the next centenary in 2049 (marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China).

 

It aims to be leader in overall military capabilities by becoming a cyber-power, a space power, and a manufacturing power of defence hardware and software.

 

While “active defence” as a military strategic concept has been consistently advocated by the PLA, its content has evolved reflecting changes in China’s national power, the international environment, and industry structure, as well as advances in military technology.

 

Its active defence strategy has changed from the tenet of “striking only after the enemy has struck,” (i.e. luring the enemy into one’s territory and then making a counterattack), to offensive actions of active defence.

 

Active defence is expected to take on a more offensive nature in the military strategy in the new era.

 

China has prepared itself for future “unrestricted warfare”, across a variety of domains.

 

To achieve vital information dominance, especially in cyberspace, China has promoted her informatisation and reviewed her cyber strategy.

 

In the space domain, China gives weight to securing space dominance by maintaining its use of space, denying use of space by adversaries, and providing information support from space.

 

China has steadily increased the number of satellites that can be used for military purposes, its space access capabilities, and its space situational awareness capabilities. It also develops capabilities for interfering with an opponent’s use of space through anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, electronic jammers, and other means.

 

The Government of China, which prioritizes the role of S&T in the military, has established the “military-civil fusion strategy” as a national strategy.

 

Under this strategy, the government makes concentrated investments in S&T in new security domains, facilitates military use of advanced technologies, and promotes indigenization of core technologies.

 

The Xi Jinping administration established the Central Commission for Military-Civil Fusion Development, a CCP organ that has been given powerful authority. Under the commission, the administration aims to build a management system through which organizations of the state, military, and society cooperate with each other for executing military-civil fusion policies.

 

Military-civil fusion efforts place particular emphasis on the cyber, space, and maritime domains.

 

The PLA’s informatisation of the military system and increased reliance on space assets in military operations have created vulnerabilities that accrue from attacks on these systems.

 

China has made a rapid rise in S&T, but it is still in the developing stage. Especially with regard to talent and specific core technologies.

 

The enhancement of China’s military capabilities in new security domains has fuelled international competition over core technologies and technological infrastructure.

 

The PLA has expanded its operational domains in parallel with the rise of its military capability, and is reinforcing the offensive element of active defense.

 

Implications for India

As it prepares for intelligentised warfare in this context, the PLA is likely to test operate new technologies and capabilities.

 

In the near future, besides other countries, India will also face confronting situations and be compelled to respond to them.

 

In the long run, fulfilling the “Chinese Dream” of “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” would include resolving the disputes with neighbouring countries in a manner consistent with China’s wishes.

 

Enhancement of the PLA’s military capabilities, and belligerent attitude of China, would necessitate enhancement of India’s military capabilities on priority.

 

Looking ahead to the medium and long term trends of military technology, India needs to invest in technology infusion into its military.

 

India needs to re-orientate and reorganise to develop capability of warfare in strategic domains of space, cyber, electromagnetic, and information.

 

Thought

Time has come to spend on Military capability enhancement even if it is at the cost of development.

Do You Agree?

 

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References

NIDS China Security Report 2021.

https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/chinas-military-has-a-hidden-weakness/

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/is-china-speeding-up-military-modernisation-it-may-but-its-not-yet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernization_of_the_People%27s_Liberation_Army

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-modernizing-military

 

 

 

 

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