China Military Research Articles

The Evolution of China's Military Strategy

The Evolution of China's Military Strategy

China's Military-Civil Fusion and Military Procurement

executive summary: This essay examines the impact of China's Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) strategy on the country's military procurement and argues that its main contribution lies in increasing China's access to advanced military-related foreign know-how and technologies. main argumentAdopted in 2015, the MCF strategy is the last phase of a prolonged national effort to overcome the embedded hindrances of China's military procurement system by harnessing the civilian sector to that end. The strategy is designed to inject new technologies and R&D into China's military-industrial complex, increase its efficiency, and improve the bargaining position of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) vis-à-vis its suppliers throughout the various phases of procurement. A close examination of the expressed objectives of the MCF, its policy tools, and implementation reveals that (1) the strategy concentrates more on R&D than all other procurement phases, (2) efforts to reduce bureaucratic and functional barriers between the defense and civilian industry sectors face many obstacles, and (3) MCF's greatest achievements lie in transferring advanced military-related expertise from foreign sources to China's military establishment. policy implications • Although the MCF strategy narrows China's military-technology gap with other leading world powers, it does not address the embedded inefficiencies of the country's military procurement system. Hence, its overall effect on the PLA's readiness and warfighting capability is limited. • China's MCF has drawn negative attention from other countries—particularly the U.S.—for the tight relations between the military, civilian industry, and academia. Such criticism affects China's political, technological, and economic relationships with these countries and may have detrimental consequences for relevant Chinese sectors. • MCF's record may provide another demonstration of China's difficulty in injecting market forces into its state-owned sector as well as in addressing problems of inefficiency through measures other than economic liberalization.

China's Military Increase: A Security Dilemma In Asia Pacific

This research seeks to show how theories and concepts can explain the rise in China's military and its impact on the Asia Pacific. Through the lens of theory and concept, this paper will also show what causes China to increase its military and why this is a security dilemma for the Asia Pacific. This paper uses the theory of Offense and Defense and also the concept of Security Dilemma. Offense and Defense Theory is intended to explain how the balance between offense and defense in the Asia Pacific region occurs so that it does not cause significant conflict in the Asia Pacific Region. The Security Dilemma concept is used to analyze the impact of China's rising military making the Asia Pacific countries a security dilemma. By using these theories and concepts, it is produced that if Defense is more dominant than Offense, then war will be avoided here, which plays the role of Offense, namely China and Asia Pacific countries play Defense. But China's behavior also cannot be separated from its country's history and position. So, China and the Asia Pacific region have contributed to the offense-defense balance and security dynamics in the Asia Pacific region.

Is the enemy's enemy my friend? American public support for Taiwan under the context of the Sino–US trade war

PurposeIn this paper, the authors investigate the factors that explain US public support for military operation for the enemy's enemy, and argue that US public support for military defense could be attributed to three factors – whether such support aligns with US national interests, whether the public perceives the US enemy to be a threat and whether interventions and military assistance to the enemy's enemy garner moral grounds.Design/methodology/approachTo find evidence of our claims, the authors conducted two survey experiments in 2018 and 2019 on Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to see whether the ongoing trade war between the US and China (enemy) would alter the public's willingness to provide military assistance to Taiwan (enemy's enemy).FindingsThe authors first find that US national interests only matter when the public considers China's military to be not a threat when the US–China rivalry intensifies. In both waves, respondents were most likely to support for Taiwan's defense if they perceived China's military to be a major threat, followed by a minor threat and not a threat, respectively. Contrary to our theoretical expectation, the study does not find empirical support for moral factors.Originality/valueOur research applies the survey experiments among the US public to gauge public support for the enemy's enemy (Taiwan), which generates unique and vital findings to foreign policymakers and international observers.

Explaining Change in China's Military Strategy

Explaining Change in China's Military Strategy

The Evolving Role of the Military in China’s COVID-19 Response

The fear of political vulnerability stemming from an over-reliance on the military for containing COVID-19 led the civilian leadership to deploy the level and type of military support that were deliberately measured and technically specialised; the timings of this support were also carefully planned. The concern about COVID-19 causing significant infections among PLA (People’s Liberation Army) ranks that may hamper PLA response to the perceived external security challenges also proved to be premature.

China's Military and Paramilitary Activities in the East China Sea: Trends and Assessments for the U.S.-Japan Alliance

executive summary: This essay examines China's paramilitary and military activities in the East China Sea, draws implications for the security of Japan and the broader region, and assesses crisis scenarios in the troubled waters around the Senkaku Islands and Taiwan. main argumentAssessments of China's paramilitary and military activities in the East China Sea indicate that Beijing is less likely to seek to physically seize the Senkaku Islands in the near future. The China Coast Guard's daily presence in the vicinity of the islands and occasional intrusions into Japan's territorial waters ably demonstrate Beijing's opposition to Japanese control of the Senkaku Islands. Such displays of opposition appeal to the Chinese people. However, should Taiwan eventually be reunified with mainland through either peaceful or coercive means, the Senkaku Islands would remain a "lost territory." Furthermore, reunification would shift the military balance in the East China Sea dramatically in favor China. In such a scenario, armed conflict over the Senkaku Islands would become more likely. policy implications • Tokyo and Washington should begin bilateral planning for Taiwan contingency scenarios based on the 2015 U.S.-Japan defense guidelines. Without sufficient joint planning, the two allies will be at a disadvantage to respond to such a scenario. • Given China's massive theater missile capabilities, Tokyo and Washington need to fill the missile gap in the Pacific by co-developing intermediate-range missiles and deploying these in Japanese territory. • There is a need to further integrate Japanese and U.S. forces. The former is a resident force, while the latter is an expeditionary force, and Beijing could exploit this gap by a fait accompli in Taiwan or the Senkaku Islands. To avoid this scenario, Tokyo and Washington should establish a Standing Bilateral Joint Task Force in Japan's southwestern region with multi-domain operational capabilities.

중국의 부상과 일본-인도 군사⋅전략적 관계 강화 : 일본-인도의 대중국 견제 협력 분석

중국의 부상은 아시아 안보환경에 지대한 영향을 끼쳤을 뿐만 아니라 그곳에서의 세력균형구조를 변화시켰다. 중국의 부상에 직면해 다른 아시아 국가들도 자국의 안보를 위해 각자의 대중국 정책을 추진했다. 이들 중 특히 중국의 지역 라이벌이라 할 수 있는 일본과 인도의 반응은 많은 이들의 주목을 받아왔다. 이들 두 국가들은 중국의 부상에 대해 어떻게 대처하고 있는가? 본 연구는 특히 일본과 인도 간의 군사·전략적 관계 강화 움직임에 주목하여 이러한 현상을 이끈 요인과 양자 관계 강화의 상황을 살펴보는 것을 목적으로 한다. 이를 위해 본 연구는 중국의 부상과 그 결과 일본, 인도에 대한 위협 요인들을 사례들을 통해 분석한다. 분석 결과 본 연구는 신현실주의 이론에 근거해 중국의 부상에 따른 상대적 힘의 배분 상태의 변화와 두 국가가 공유하는 대중국 위협인식이 일본-인도 군사·전략적 관계 증진의 주요인임을 주장한다.

Research on Financial Support for Innovation and Integration of Military and Civil Industries

The development of military civilian integration can realize the cross domain allocation of financial resources and optimize the allocation efficiency of national financial resources. The theoretical explanation of military civilian integration is to lead the civilian with the military and promote the military with the civilian, which is conducive to the development of cutting-edge technology, the industrialization of cutting-edge technology and the diffusion of advanced technology. Promoting the army by the people is beneficial for military enterprises to make use of civilian technology, capital and market, play the role of scale economy, reduce costs and improve efficiency. The financing mode of military civilian industry integration includes industrial development fund, bank credit and asset-backed bond. The integration of military and civilian needs to establish the capital formation mechanism guided by the government and led by the market, the coordination mechanism of innovation subjects and the operation mechanism of innovation projects. From the experience of international military and civil industry integration and innovation, it is concluded that the financial support of China's military and civil industry integration and innovation needs to establish a diversified financing system in which the government guides market participation, and at the same time, to play an important role in Internet finance.

Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Trust in the Military: Comparatives on Perspectives on China, Japan, and South Korea

The pro-military tendency of people positively influences support for military policy, budget securing, and promotion of organizational commitment and cooperation. Most importantly, trust in the military plays a positive role in building a strong defense force by enhancing the morale and loyalty of military members. Therefore, the present study aims to compare and analyze the effects of diverse socio-economic factors on the level of trust in the military in South Korea, China, and Japan, which are the leading countries of Northeast Asia. At first, the study results reveal that the Chinese have a stronger tendency toward pro-military than South Koreans and Japanese, and the role of the military in China is relatively high. Second, in 2005, South Koreans with low income and financial assets and South Koreans with jobs in the government or public sector had high trust in the military. However, in 2010, the impact of these factors was statistically insignificant. Finally, South Koreans with higher income level have more inclination to trust the military than the government. Conversely, South Koreans in high age groups trust the government more than the military. In contrast, Japanese people in high age groups trust the military more than the government. To conclude that the findings of this study provide a policy implication that suggests factors to enhance the pro-military tendency of people concerning China, which is a socialist state system, and Japan, which has imperialism and experience in militarism.

US-China Trade War: Causes and Outcomes

The article reviews the chronology and analyses the causes and possible consequences of the trade war between the US and China. The authors identify four main reasons that led to the greatest trade conflict between the two economies in history associated with intentions of the US: a) to reduce the deficit of bilateral trade and increase the number of jobs; b) to limit access of Chinese companies to American technologies and prevent digital modernization of the industry in the PRC; c) to prevent the growth of China’s military strength; and d) to reduce the federal budget deficit. It is confirmed and concluded that trade wars have no winners. Taking into account the two countries’ GDP scale and export volumes, the US-China trade war will come amid a slowdown in the global production and international trade. The article analyses the outcomes of the trade confrontation based on the scenario methodology. The authors identify 4 scenarios by making assumptions about the response pattern and conjectural variation in the bilateral economic relations. The US protectionist policy has its political dimension. The constraints of the bilateral trade is one of the tools for slowing China's military and economic power growth.

Политика США в Южно-Китайском море во время президентства Д.Трампа

This article analyzes the U.S. policy in the South China Sea (SCS) under the administration of Donald Trump and examines American strategic interests, objectives, and tasks in the SCS. The U.S. policy in the SCS is addressed the context of the Indo-Pacific Strategy that has become the main doctrinal basis of the Trump administration’s policy for the Asia-Pacific. A new level of the U.S. confrontation with China is noted that in recent years has become a serious challenge for American military dominance in the South China Sea and the Asia-Pacific. The author argues that in the recent years the United States has significantly increased the scale and intensity of its naval maneuvers in the SCS. It was under the Donald Trump administration that the United States increasingly engaged its allies, including non-regional ones, in joint operations in the SCS. Special attention is paid to the impact of Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOP), conducted by the United States Navy in the contested maritime areas. FONOP have a dual character. On the one hand, they are framed as peacekeeping operations aimed solely at protecting freedom of navigation. On the other hand, these naval raids are the U.S. key tool to contain China's military ambitions and lead to aggravating tensions in the region.

Military and Revolutionary Events in China in the 1930-1955 in Color Soviet Documentaries

Military and Revolutionary Events in China in the 1930-1955 in Color Soviet Documentaries

Active Defense: China's Military Strategy since 1949 By M. Taylor Fravel. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019. 376 pp. $35.00 (cloth).

Active Defense: China's Military Strategy since 1949 By M. Taylor Fravel. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019. 376 pp. $35.00 (cloth).

The Rise and Fall of an Officer Corps: The Republic of China Military, 1942–1955

For much of its history, the Army of the Republic of China was a heavily politicized force that was controlled by the Kuomintang (Nationalist party) and served to bolster the party's power. But many of its officers wanted to create a more professionalized force, led by a well-trained and apolitical officer corps and responsible to a national government rather than to a party. During some periods American advisers were also encouraging such an agenda. Eric Setzekorn's important study of the struggles for professionalization of the army, The Rise and Fall of an Officer Corps, covers a broader period than its subtitle suggests. In the 1920s the Whampoa Military Academy trained both regular military officers and political officers for a Kuomintang army in south China, which became the Army of the Republic of China when the Kuomintang and its leader, Chiang Kai-shek, won control of the heart of China in 1927. The role of the political officers declined after 1927, but the army remained more a tool of the party than of a true national government. The number of trained officers was seriously inadequate even before they suffered disastrous casualties during the first months of Japan's all-out invasion of China in 1937.

Defense Intelligence Agency: China Military Power. Modernizing a Force to Fight and Win. Washington DC: DIA, 2019.

Defense Intelligence Agency: China Military Power. Modernizing a Force to Fight and Win. Washington DC: DIA, 2019.

The Development and Application of China Military UAV

This paper reviews the development history of Chinese military UAVs, summarizes the serial development and application of Chinese military UAVs, and proposes the future development trends: Small size and integration, large and complicated system extension, intellectualization, invisibility and etc.

U.S.-China Military-to-Military Relations: Policy Considerations in a Changing Environment

U.S.-China Military-to-Military Relations:Policy Considerations in a Changing Environment Andrew S. Erickson (bio) keywords United States, China, miltary relations, National Defense Authorization Act [End Page 123] executive summary This article examines the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and argues that it is both a relevant instrument of congressional oversight and an appropriate safeguard for U.S. policy in bilateral military relations with China. main argument China's rapid military modernization and increasing assertiveness under Xi Jinping—combined with growing tensions between China and the U.S.—have created a context for bilateral military relations that is significantly worse than in previous eras. This new reality makes it important to revisit the state of U.S.-China military relations with a critical eye. Initial findings suggest that the benefits of such contacts are real but limited, and in some respects they are asymmetric in favor of China's military, with little prospect of major breakthroughs in favor of U.S., allied, or even shared bilateral interests. While a moderate degree of exchange is certainly better than little or no engagement, military relations cannot and will not improve the trajectory of U.S.-China relations. The NDAA is not preventing any activities in the U.S. interest that China would likely reciprocate fully. Transcending the current situation in bilateral military engagements without compromising U.S. interests does not require revisions of the NDAA or marginalization of congressional review, but rather demands progress in Sino-U.S. relations more broadly, which may be difficult under Xi. policy implications • U.S. policy on military relations with China should proceed from a four-fold approach that is (1) clear and cogently communicated, (2) conditional and credible, (3) comprehensive, and (4) consistent. • The U.S. approach should begin with a cautious Hippocratic oath of military engagement ("first, do no harm" to U.S. security interests), which puts the burden of proof on any advocates for changing the NDAA's provisions. • U.S. military relations with China should promote openness, transparency, and innovation in specific tangible areas, particularly those that help avoid incidents when their forces are in close proximity, such as risk avoidance, crisis communication, and deconfliction procedures, as well as those that provide public goods, such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. • Finally, the U.S. military should emphasize equitable reciprocity and pursue a transactional approach that recognizes that progress can occur only to the extent that both sides are fully willing and able to work toward this end. [End Page 124] The U.S. government's executive and legislative branches are engaged in a sweeping re-evaluation of the United States' policy toward the People's Republic of China (PRC). This sea change is driven by perceptions that China is approaching the status of a peer competitor and threatening U.S. leadership in critical advanced industries that underwrite the United States' national security leadership and military power. Beijing is doing so through information operations, influence efforts, and espionage designed to confuse and lower resistance as it seeks to undermine U.S. strength, acquire information to emulate U.S. sources of power, and achieve dominance in critical areas essential to U.S. leadership. While concern is outpacing consensus on what strategies and actions to take, engagement is no longer the default setting for U.S. policy. Official U.S. government and other institutional interchanges with the Chinese state and society, particularly military relations, will increasingly be scrutinized to ensure that they are not undermining U.S. interests. Accordingly, for the United States, China's ongoing lack of transparency regarding both military capabilities and intentions, coupled with its rapid increases in defense spending and wide-ranging military modernization, generates great concern. Defense policy goes to the heart of a nation's vital interests and is necessarily sensitive and contested. This extends to bilateral and multilateral military relationships. Military relations cannot bolster or independently stabilize Sino-U.S. relations. Typically, they serve as an indicator of the overall relationship's broader health, one that is able to influence relations only for the worse. Chinese interlocutors frequently refer to military-to-military relations as "the short stave in the barrel" of the overall relationship...

Conflict and Chaos on the Korean Peninsula: Can China's Military Help Secure North Korea's Nuclear Weapons?

Is China likely to intervene if war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, and if so, does Beijing have the willingness and capabilities to deal safely with North Korea's nuclear program? Securing and destroying Pyongyang's nuclear weapons would be the United States’ top priority in a Korean contingency, but scholars and policymakers have not adequately accounted for the Chinese military's role in this mission. China's concerns about nuclear security and refugee flows, its expanding military capabilities to intervene, and its geopolitical competition with the United States all suggest that China is likely to intervene militarily and extensively on the Korean Peninsula if conflict erupted. In this scenario, Chinese forces would seek to gain control of North Korea's nuclear facilities and matériel. For the most part, China has the capabilities to secure, identify, and characterize North Korean nuclear facilities, though it exhibits weaknesses in weapons dismantlement and nonproliferation practices. On aggregate, however, Chinese troops on the peninsula would be beneficial for U.S. interests and regional security. Nevertheless, to mitigate the risks, the United States should work with China to coordinate their movements in potential areas of operation, share intelligence, and conduct combined nuclear security training.

Active Denial: Redesigning Japan's Response to China's Military Challenge

Abstract The growth of Chinese military power poses significant challenges to Japan. China's military spending, which was half that of Japan's in 1996, is now three and a half times as large. Japan has taken a range of measures to buttress its military forces and loosen the restrictions on their operations, but much remains to be done. Most important, Tokyo needs to reexamine its strategy to maximize Japan's deterrent leverage. Of the three general approaches to conventional deterrence—punishment, forward defense, and denial—Japan's best option is to shift to a denial strategy. Such a strategy, built around a resilient force that can survive attack and attrite an encroaching adversary, can make the risks to a potential attacker unacceptably high. In Japan's case, such a strategy would leverage the inherent dangers that Beijing would face in contemplating a prolonged war against Japan and its U.S. ally. The strategy, updated to reflect the imperatives of air and maritime warfare in the precision strike era, would require a high level of dispersion and mobility and might therefore be labeled “active denial.” Adopting an active denial strategy would buttress Japan's defense and deterrent capability while reducing first-strike incentives and improving crisis stability.