<\/p>\n
China\u2019s military modernisation has been top driven, well guided process.<\/span><\/p>\n Through observing other countries\u2019 wars, including the Gulf War, the China realised that the information dominance was key to winning modern warfare.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Active Defence Strategy and Unrestricted Warfare<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n China has consistently followed the military strategy of \u201cactive defence\u201d. However, the meaning and interpretation of the strategy has undergone changes from time to time.<\/span><\/p>\n In Mao Zedong\u2019s era the strategy was premised on \u201cstriking only after the enemy has struck\u201d in the overall back drop of total war (World war scenario).<\/span><\/p>\n In Deng Xiaoping\u2019s era, local war using conventional weapons was elevated to strategic level, and the active defence strategy came to encapsulate the concept of pre-emptive attack conceived in local wars.<\/span><\/p>\n In Jiang Zemin\u2019s era, the goal was to win \u201clocal wars under high-tech conditions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In Hu Jintao\u2019s era, China recognized the importance of information in warfare, and the goal became winning \u201clocal wars under the conditions of informationisation.\u201d Network-centric war is the closest equivalent of this terminology.<\/span><\/p>\n After Xi Jinping came to power, China\u2019s aim shifted to winning informatised and intelligentised warfare making use of all the domains, including space, cyber, electromagnetic and psychological. Unrestricted warfare<\/strong><\/span> is the terminology introduced in the Chinese military lexicon.<\/span><\/p>\n The targets of attack in this type of warfare will include not only physical objects but also nontangible targets in cyber and cognitive spaces. The warfare is not restricted to military and military hardware. \u00a0This type of warfare uses anything as a weapon in the DIME paradigm.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Information Warfare and Cyber Domain<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) has recognised that \u201cinformation dominance\u201d is crucial for seizing core initiative in modern warfare.<\/span><\/p>\n In this process, the Strategic Support Force (SSF) was established in late 2015. It appears that the SSF is responsible for achieving information dominance as well as providing information support for joint operations, including the space, cyber, and electromagnetic domains, and converting advanced technologies into military capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n To achieve information dominance, the PLA also attaches importance to information warfare and cyber operations. This includes monitoring (surveillance), offensive operations (cyber-attacks) and defensive operations.<\/span><\/p>\n To cope with these challenges, China has sought to indigenise core technologies and train specialists in the cyber field.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Military Use of Space<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n China considers space as an essential domain for the prospective intelligentised warfare.<\/span><\/p>\n China\u2019s space activities from their inception have been closely linked to military activities. However, it was only from the 1990s through the 2000s that the military value of space began to be recognized more widely in the PLA.<\/span><\/p>\n The PLA uses space to provide information support for operations on land, sea, and air and is also developing capabilities to disrupt other countries\u2019 use of space.<\/span><\/p>\n In China, emerging space enterprises have rapidly boosted their technological capabilities with government and military support. The future is expected to herald an era in which the military adopts the technologies developed by the private sector and uses their services.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n China\u2019s Military-Civil Fusion Strategy<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In China, military capabilities are being enhanced through military-civil fusion (MCF).<\/span><\/p>\n The MCF strategy advanced by the Xi administration aims to strengthen military capabilities and promote national development by tying together the military and socio-economy.<\/span><\/p>\n Since its establishment, the PLA has maintained close relations with the private sector, including participating in production activities. However, this relationship has changed with the times.<\/span><\/p>\n As science and technology takes on an increasing role in the security sector, and against the backdrop of the rising technological level of China\u2019s private companies in the shift to a market economy, emphasis has been placed on MCF to enhance the military capabilities of the PLA.<\/span><\/p>\n The Xi administration created the Central Commission for Military-Civil Fusion Development, a powerful organization. It has launched measures in succession to ensure the smooth implementation of MCF.<\/span><\/p>\n In conjunction, the commission promotes the prioritisation of science, technology, and industry for national defence in new security domains, the active use of cutting-edge technologies for military purposes, and indigenisation of core technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thought<\/span><\/p>\n At times it is prudent to learn few things from one’s adversary.<\/span><\/p>\n