Latest Articles about PLA Reforms
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A Disturbance in the Force: The Reorganization of People’s Liberation Army Command and Elimination of China’s Strategic Support Force
Executive Summary: Consolidation and refinement of military information power capabilities within the new Information Support Force (ISF) continues to reflect the PLA’s outsized emphasis on battlespace information control in multi-domain integrated joint operations. The April 2024 reorganization eliminated the Strategic Support Force and subordinated the... MORE
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Planned Obsolescence: The Strategic Support Force In Memoriam (2015-2024)
Executive Summary: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Strategic Support Force likely was designed principally as a transitional structure meant to provide a home for disparate space, cyber, and informatization forces until their force structure could be developed enough to stand as independent branches. The successor... MORE
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National Defense Mobilization: Toward A Clear Division of Labor between the PLA and Civilian Bureaucracies
Executive Summary: As the result of the ongoing military reform, the military’s guiding and leadership role over civilian bureaucracies seems to be strengthened. Meanwhile, the responsibilities of the State Council and local governments on NDM have been substantiated, and the administrative work which the PLA... MORE
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PLA Personnel Shakeups And Their Implications
Executive Summary: Dong Jun's appointment as Defense Minister and changes in the PLA Rocket Force leadership mark a strategic shift towards bolstering military diplomacy, particularly with Russia, and enhancing combat and technological readiness, reflecting Dong's significant role in shaping future military strategy. The leadership overhaul... MORE
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PLA Air Force Increases Flexibility of Combat Support Units
In early November, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) published photographs of army helicopters taking off from an “air force station” of the Eastern Theater Command during a “trans-regional operation” in late October (China Military Online, November 10). “Air force station” likely refers to the... MORE
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PLA Officer Cadet Recruitment: Part 2
Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a two-part series on People’s Liberation Army (PLA; 人民解放军) officer cadet recruitment since the PLA reduced the number of officer academic institutions (院校) in 2017 to 34, as part of the 11th Force Reduction that began in... MORE
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PLA Officer Cadet Recruitment: Part 1
Editor’s Note: This is the first article in a two-part series on People’s Liberation Army (PLA; 人民解放军) officer cadet recruitment since the PLA reduced the number of officer academic institutions (院校) in 2017 to 34, as part of the eleventh Force Reduction that began in... MORE
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AI Strategies in the PLA’s Coastal and Air Defense
China has made significant strides in its ongoing contest with the United States to dominate the technological vanguard, especially in the military realm. One primary indicator of these efforts is the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) vigorous pursuit of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its defense... MORE
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Xi’s Personnel Mismanagement
Paramount leader Xi Jinping (习近平) has been widely blamed by foreign governments and media for failing to take effective measures to remedy an economy hurt by excessive leverage, weak exports, anemic consumer spending, and the massive withdrawal of investment by multinationals (Foreign Policy, September 6).... MORE
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Xi’s Mismanagement Fuels Political Scandals and Exacerbates Economic Woes
Introduction After emerging as China’s “leader for life” and filling top party organs such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and the Politburo with members of his own faction, paramount leader Xi Jinping has been relentlessly buffeted by what he refers to as... MORE