China's Concept of Military Strategy

Abstract

ABSTRACT: China's concept of military strategy is very different from that of the United States. This article examines the various components of the strategic thought of the People's Liberation Army and how its theory of strategy can be applied in contemporary times. Among other things, the article offers US analysts template for confronting Chinese strategy. ********** There is an American joke that perfectly explains what Mao referred to as the of Chinese military strategy: Vinnie is in jail. His father writes to tell him he wishes Vinnie were home now to dig up the tomato garden. Vinnie writes back not to do that, since that is where he buried the bodies. The next day the FBI digs up the ground and finds no bodies. A day later Vinnie writes, 'under the circumstances, Dad, that was the best I could do.' Yet very few Americans would recognize in this joke connection to Chinese military strategy, since the United States view of strategy is so different. Vinnie made someone (the FBI) do something for the agency (look for the bodies) that they were actually doing for someone else (Vinnie and his dad). To get someone to do something for himself that he thinks is in his own interests, but which is actually in your interests, is the essence of strategy, according to Mao. The United States Armed Forces, according to Joint 'Publication 1-02, Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, defines strategy as a prudent idea or set of ideas for employing the instruments of national power in synchronized and integrated fashion to achieve theater, national, and/or multinational objectives. (1) This definition is more kinetic than potential (the ideas having been generated) and it envisions employing power as the means to achieve an objective. The definition restricts itself to the use of diplomacy, information, military, and economic means as the employment preference. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China appears to define strategy more broadly and analytically than the US military. The PLA definition has several components as part of its comprehensive nature. While the official definition has changed little over the past twenty years, internal discussions have surfaced about information-age strategy. As result, Chinese strategy is now mix of the old and new and, from this author's vantage point, includes the following: 1. Official definitions highlighting Chinese strategy's comprehensive nature and use of analytical judgment (planning and the use of strategic guidelines; remnants from the past play prominent role) 2. An analytical thought process seemingly more prominently Marxist than before. It examines the strategic environment through the lens of objective reality and applies subjective judgment to manipulate that environment to one's advantage 3. The use of stratagems integrated with technological innovations. This hybrid combination is paired with specific aspects of an enemy's intelligence-judgment-decision process to induce the enemy to make decisions as one would expect 4. The constant search for strategic advantage or shi, which is also goal of the Chinese strategic game of Weiqi or Go. Shi is sought everywhere, whether it be with the use of forces, electrons, or some other aspect of the strategic environment 5. The objective of deceptively making someone do something ostensibly for himself, when he is actually doing it for you. Each of these items is explained below, along with few comments from retired PLA officers who specialized in strategy. Together, these various elements of the PLA's strategic template offer analysts method through which to understand and respond to the Chinese approach to, for example, the cyber environment or the South China Sea. Without the template, analysts are prone to mirror-image Western views of the strategic environment, and thereby develop improper responses to PLA activities. …