Latest Articles about PLA

The PLA Navy’s Evolving Posture Beyond the First Island Chain
Executive Summary: The concurrent deployment of the Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carriers beyond the First Island Chain represents a significant strategic milestone, highlighting the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) improved capability to coordinate complex naval operations and signaling a shift towards more sophisticated Anti-Access/Area-Denial (A2/AD) operations... MORE

PLA Navy Shifts Training Focus from Near-Shore to Blue-Water Operations
Executive Summary: In June 2025, the Liaoning and Shandong carrier strike groups conducted operations in the Western Pacific, achieving three major milestones with significant strategic implications for the U.S. military and Indo-Pacific regional states. The three key milestones include the first simultaneous deployment of two... MORE

PLA Military Aerospace Force: On the Frontier of Innovation and Competition
Executive Summary: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Aerospace Force (ASF) is structured to rapidly integrate space-based surveillance, targeting, and offensive capabilities into any conflict involving the PLA, signaling Beijing’s strategic anticipation of conflicts over Taiwan or the South China Sea. By consolidating the People’s Republic... MORE

PLA Purges Provide Opening for Xi’s Rivals
Executive Summary: New evidence suggests that a faction within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aligned with former president Hu Jintao and former premier Wen Jiabao could be exerting influence on the direction of the Party. Three party elders—all of whom were Hu Jintao allies—reportedly criticized... MORE

Drills and Experts Suggest Beijing Favors Blockade on Longer Timeline
Executive Summary: The People’s Liberation Army increasingly emphasizes blockade scenarios in its exercises and drills, signaling a strategic shift in Beijing’s approach to a military contingency in the Taiwan Strait. Policy elites and current and former military officials corroborate this shift but largely project any... MORE

Latest PLA Anti-Corruption Campaign Enhances Xi Jinping’s Control Over the Military
Executive Summary: The PLA followed the overall disciplinary work of the Chinese Communist Party to promote the “all-around battle” against corruption. The “all-around battle” against corruption includes strengthening vertical control and enhancing horizontal coordination. The former focuses on centralizing power while delegating responsibility, and the... MORE

CCP Aggression Against Taiwan
In the last 6 months, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has increased its aggressive actions targeting Taiwan. These include military provocations, infiltration operations, and gray zone activities. In his 2024 New Year’s Eve address, PRC President Xi Jinping reiterated the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP)... MORE

Weaponizing the Electromagnetic Spectrum: The PRC’s High-powered Microwave Warfare Ambitions
Executive Summary: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is rapidly expanding its arsenal of high-power microwave (HPM) weapons as part of its broader strategy to achieve dominance in the electromagnetic spectrum. Recent breakthroughs—including the deployment of mobile-platform HPM systems—signal the PLA’s intent to integrate these capabilities... MORE

Taiwan Bolsters Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience
Executive Summary: Taiwan is bolstering its deterrence posture through whole-of-society defense resilience drills, involving civilians in readiness activities in part to raise confidence in national defense and drawing on European and Japanese models in the process. The most recent drill included 1,500 participants and tested... MORE

Taiwan Focuses on Societal Resilience and U.S. Cooperation in New Defense Review
Executive Summary: Taiwan's 2025 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) prioritizes enhancing all-of-society resilience and emphasizes U.S.-Taiwan military cooperation. The document represents a significant improvement over its predecessor in content and clarity but suffers from being a document without consensus: Published by the Ministry of National Defense,... MORE