Chinese Military Capabilities – Strategy, Technology & The Changing PLA



The modernisation of the Chinese PLA has represented a dramatic shift in the balance of military power in Asia.

Over the course of several decades, the PLA has shifted from a primarily ground combat force with a large stock of outdated equipment, to one that is increasingly capable of projecting power and holding targets at risk over longer and longer distances.

Having discussed the PRC’s military budget, industry, rocket force and other critical drivers, today I finally want to give an overview of the PLA’s changing capabilities and ask the question – what kind of force has China’s modernisation process created, and how may it continue to evolve going forward?

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU

Relevant Reading/sourcing

China’s National Defence in a New Era (2019)
https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/whitepaper/201907/24/content_WS5d3941ddc6d08408f502283d.html

US DOD – Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2023
https://media.defense.gov/2023/Oct/19/2003323409/-1/-1/1/2023-MILITARY-AND-SECURITY-DEVELOPMENTS-INVOLVING-THE-PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA.PDF

The PLA Strategic Support Force: Future-proofing China’s Military – Cosmo Cao
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-pla-strategic-support-force-future-proofing-chinas-military/

China’s Strategic Support Force: A Force for a New Era – Costello & McReynolds, National Defence University
https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/stratperspective/china/china-perspectives_13.pdf

Russian and Chinese Combat Air Trends: Current Capabilities and Future Threat Outlook – Bronk (2020)
https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/whitehall-reports/russian-and-chinese-combat-air-trends-current-capabilities-and-future-threat-outlook

CRS– China’s military, the PLA – 2021
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46808

China Naval Modernisation: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities – Background and Issue for Congress
https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/RL33153.pdf

The Chinese Military Speaks to Itself, Revealing Doubts – Dennis Blasko
https://warontherocks.com/2019/02/the-chinese-military-speaks-to-itself-revealing-doubts/

China Expanding YY-20 fleet
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/china-expanding-yy-20-aerial-refueller-fleet

The Creation of the PLA Strategic Support Force and its Implications for Chinese Military Space Operations – Pollpeter, Chase & Heginbotham (2017)
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2058.html

The U.S. China Military Scorecard – RAND – 2017
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR392.html

Learning Warfare from the Laboratory – China’s progression in wargaming and opposing force training – Kania, Burns & Caslin
https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Learning%20Warfare%20from%20the%20Laboratory%20ISW%20September%202021%20Report.pdf

Mentioned reporting of Chinese Type 99 usage during wargaming
http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/CHINA_209163/WeaponryEquipment/News_209182/9409397.html

2007 Reporting on ASAT test
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2007/jan/23/spaceexploration.china

Type 59 image (2018)
http://eng.mod.gov.cn/focus/2018-03/16/content_4806946_3.htm

J-16 EW Version
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/airshow-china-2021-chinese-air-force-unveils-ew-variant-of-j-16-multirole-fighter-aircraft

PLA Operational Concepts – Burke,
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA300/RRA394-1/RAND_RRA394-1.pdf

Featured Economist article
https://www.economist.com/special-report/2023/11/06/xi-jinping-worries-that-chinas-troops-are-not-ready-to-fight

Caveats & Comments:
All normal caveats and comments apply.
In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions.

Featured Image of multinational exercises
https://thediplomat.com/2016/05/us-japan-south-korea-plan-missile-defense-exercise-on-rimpac-2016-sidelines/

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Opening Words
00:00:42 — What Am I Talking About?
00:02:00 — Strategy And Strategic Environment
00:13:11 — The Forces
00:13:35 — The Strategic Support Force
00:17:59 — The Space Systems Department
00:18:49 — Network Systems Department
00:21:10 — PLA Ground Forces
00:27:51 — PLAAF (Air Force)
00:36:15 — PLAN (Navy)
00:49:22 — The Rocket Force
00:53:09 — Shortfalls, Trends & Perspectives
01:05:48 — Channel Update

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45 thoughts on “Chinese Military Capabilities – Strategy, Technology & The Changing PLA”

  1. Future Perun note – It looks like we crossed the 500k mark between recording and posting this one. That is, frankly, well beyond where I ever expected this channel to go. I'll reflect on it a bit, and have some thoughts on it next week. I'll also give some thought as to how to mark the milestone.

    Also – there is a hilarious and i hope obvious error in this one as a result of a typo. No PLAN vessel has a 1.3meter calibre main gun… it is 130mm, not 1330

    Reply
  2. You can look at it from another perspective.

    The actual bad debt ratios of many of CCP's banks in China have reached the "bankruptcy" standard many years ago. Based on the"face" issue, CCP uses the authoritarian system to cover up a huge shady story and lay the groundwork for even greater thunderstorms in the future… The victims will be The general public savers !!

    The CCP is trying to trick the general public's savings accounts… and they will eventually suffer the consequences !!

    Reply
  3. This video seem it knews China military weapons inside and out. 😂Just the Beiduo 10cm is accuracy, clear sky is 1cm and encrypted only for military use. UAV super accuracy. Can use communication for military. Huawei phone has this feature where send sos and location if you lost in jungle or sea where no phone signal. Currently Beiduo is default for android phone and commercial aircraft. 3.6m public, 2.6m for commercial aircraft and 10cm for military. That the worst weather scenario accuracy. US 1st GPS launch was late 70's.

    Reply
  4. Sometime I wonder about particularly with the navy part is the actual logistics to support them. Sure china can crank out as many destroyers as they want but if you don't have fuel, maintenance, time and skilled people to keep the things floating that doesn't mean much. Looking at the lack of tankers in the air force is a good point to note, Russia and China tend to lean towards defensive and big bling the US is most impressive with the soft arm of military power the tanker force electricon war planes ect.

    Reply
  5. When talking scale, ot is worth noting, that on 1944 the eastern front alone involved some four million soldiers, eight thousand tanks, twelve thousand other AFVs, fourty thousand heavy trucks, fifty thousand artillery pieces and three thousand aircraft. Per side.
    Now the effective range of weapons has easily doubled if not quadroupled since then, but it is still plain to see, that total war fought with a level of industrialization and productivity an order of magnitude, if not two, behind modern, still saw twice the equipment pool of the entire fucking PLA just on a front roughly twice that of what we see in Ukraine today. Five thousand tanks being enough to take half of avdiivka isnt an exaggeration. It is an utterly inadequate number for large scale war.

    Reply
  6. Accurate analysis of Chinese equipment that has not been exported is very dicey at best.
    All the information we have on such types comes from what the Chinese military publicly releases. This information could be fairly accurate, could be inflated for propaganda purposes, or could be minimized to maintain an element of surprise if it ever engages in combat ops.
    The point is, we simply do not know.

    Reply
  7. Great video as always, but I was a little sad to see you skip the little historical background section for this one. Obviously with China it's a lot of ground to cover but I really enjoy those segments. Congrats on an extremely deserved 500k anyways!

    Reply
  8. This Rick from Behalf Rodoffe *Machine GuN in DE * And Hey Privat and only in Germany not another country and Not another pleplo Nobody only
    Rodoffe and Bad Girl From Hufrau (Vater and Mama from Marie not more another pleplo)
    What want from me Hey

    Reply
  9. My Rick want know# 🙁
    On behalf Rodoffe from
    *Machine GuN ..Privat Business is not Same Saver Sevier Supply Systems NaTo Army Project, Hey Is not same and Bring another
    I only help for 😊 have idea and better For Systems But not Only Make Problem and So easy say Clein ,and I much make because small women from pur land and Bring KingDoG Much not make because clain 😮OMG Not my baby Not my Work because my Job 2022 National Ende and KingDoG not work about this

    Reply
  10. Rodoffe MC.KENNEDY is Australia pleplo 😂😂and Rodoff *Machine GuN in DE industry and on behalf let me and baby in DE for look Machine GuN 😂😂😂Rodoff,
    And What is Problem about this abd Hey Laws in my land Whole spreak about Another pleplo and lette pleplo have Problem (#in Laws much play 10% from money what pleplo have
    😮OMG)
    Laws in Thailand is Coppy Laws Germany, So Laws of the word is I not know But
    Thailand and Germany Laws is Same because Thailand Coppy Germany

    Reply
  11. Threatning Taiwan is foolish thing to do. Most catastrophic nation because of climate change will be China. What meaning does it have when all the major cities in the east coast and even Taiwan becomes underwater. They may think climate change is western world made up bullshit which is not and is really getting closer every day.

    Reply
  12. China has not fought a war for half a century. Has the United States engaged in a large-scale war since the Vietnam War? The United States is attacking countries with AK47s and is defenseless.

    During the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, the United Nations Army (mainly the United States) composed of 16 countries sent troops to support South Korea, and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army supported North Korea. Without air support, the Chinese army was tied with the United Nations Army led by the United States, let alone now.

    American soldiers are greedy for life and afraid of death, and they will cry like ghosts and wolf howls after a few people die.

    Reply
  13. i saw many AU viewers mock his PPT analyze. Funny, right? However, the hilarious thing is: he even don't need to make such seriously PPT.
    just change account nation or loaction to US, then give a more "exciting" title, like: 《America Win, China Lose, Period》.
    Then use some roughly drawed Cartoon video or just Gaming videos, such as COD. u can easily get more than 7.6million subscribe! don't ask me how do I know. (because I found the channel. lol)
    we lived on algorithm stage, only Porns or funny short videos ahead no-brain-use contents. lol

    Reply
  14. 美國連擁有少量核武的北韓都吾敢打,邊夠膽同中國開戰😂,真係笑死人
    況且中國自古以來從不侵略別國,只有八國聯軍侵略中國😂
    中國有十四億人,死幾億人有乜所謂,美國死一億人你話會點?😅

    真不明白為什麽美國總喜歡到處找敵人?世界各國合作共贏,互惠互利不是很好嗎?

    Reply
  15. Musing over whether China would be better served to revisit it's desire to annex eastern Russian provinces while Russia is depleting it's war resources on the far western front. Seems like there could be more to gain than a small island whose infrastructure and industry has been turned to dust.

    Reply
  16. Military experience is overrated. Russia had plenty and it gave them the incorrect impression that they could defeat Ukraine easily. The US is similar. No US soldier signed up expecting a fair fight. A bully who only knows hitting the weak will fold immediately when facing serious opposition

    Reply
  17. Another great presentation and analysis. I think the final comments about politics are the most compelling. The failure of the ABDA command of 1942 was likely due more to the politics (e.g., focus/support/planning/resource allocation) and lack of joint exercise (i.e., the actual fighting) than to equipment or personnel. Victory in WW2 was due as much to allied cooperation as to the axis lack of cooperation (particularly the distracting Italian fiascoes)..

    Reply
  18. The lack of combat experience may also contribute to Chinese over confidence when it comes to Taiwan.

    Let me guess…‘chairman Xi, we can take Taiwan in 3 days, like we did in our recent war games…shall we launch the operation next week?….’

    Reply

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