India's top military experts say the lack of clarity and differentiation between conventional and nuclear missiles in the 2nd Artillery Corps of the Chinese army (PLA) is a cause of concern for India. They also point out that there exists a lack of discussion on Chinese cyber capabilities or its command and control structures.
India’s top military experts say the lack of clarity and differentiation between conventional and nuclear missiles in the 2nd Artillery Corps of the Chinese army (PLA) is a cause of concern for India. They also point out that there exists a lack of discussion on Chinese cyber capabilities or its command and control structures.
The experts said it would be important for India to keep the weaknesses of the Chinese system in mind while reforming and modernising its own forces to counter the perceived threat from China. The most important lesson lies in the need to right size and organise command and control structures to meet the political and security goals of the state.
These views were expressed during a workshop on 'China’s Military Modernisation' organised by the National Security Programme of Observer Research Foundation on 24 September 2015. The workshop discussed the implications of the Chinese army modernisation moves which is expected to accelerate Beijing’s efforts to modernise its military, shifting resources from land to sea and air.
The backdrop of the workshop was Chinese President Xi Jinping’s announcement last month, at the 70th anniversary to mark the end of the World War II, that China would reduce the country’s 2.3-million-strong armed forces by 300,000 soldiers.
Lieutenant General Narasimhan, Commandant Army War College, Mhow, delivered the key note address. The session was chaired by Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow, ORF.
Narasimhan began his presentation emphasising the constant reiteration by Jingping of the need for a modern and capable force loyal to the party. The doctrines are going to dictate organization. Peoples' war doctrines on mobility and the enemy drawn into the country have evolved to winning informationised local wars, theatre defence to trans-theatre mobility and open seas protection. The phase of modernisation starting from 2003 with China’s initial emphasis on mechanization and a forward defence strategy to avoid conflicts too close to home was leaf frogged with informationalisation. These tactics we tailored to help china fight more advanced militaries leveraging geography.
The reductions have been perceived as an expansion of military power by redirecting money to higher impact and better technologies, which can have more strategic effect. The PLA Air Force is in the process of integrating air and space operations, while the PLA Navy is focusing its efforts on platforms and weapons systems which can be used in offshore water defence and open sea protection.
Parity of manpower between the different armed forces is expected to change positively. The balance of forces is still 70% army, 15% navy and 15% air force. The PLA in the coming years is expected to adjust that to about 50% army, 25% navy and 25% air force. The defence budget too is expected to be divided similarly.
The number of military regions will be reduced from 7 to 4-5. As a result, the size of these regions will become huge. This will create an imbalance in compositions. According to Narasimhan, the 2nd Artillery Corps might be in the future integrated into different theatre commands and regions.
There have been major efforts by China to improve the capacity of rockets, Near-Earth Orbiter - 25 Tons & Geostationary - 14 Tons. Develop & launch new Sun Synchronous & Geo Stationary Meteorological, Oceanic & Earth Resources Satellites. The military parade saw the display of the Dongfeng-21D, which is reportedly capable of destroying an aircraft carrier with one hit. The Dongfeng-21D was displayed alongside several intercontinental ballistic missiles such as the DF-5B and the DF-31A as well as the DF-26 intermediate range ballistic missile. These weapons are expected to change the balance of power in the region.
The discussions during the question & answer session revolved around reforms in the education of combat and higher ranks and the combat potential of Chinese manpower. It was observed that there exists a lack of discussion on Chinese cyber capabilities or its command and control structures.
Covering a similar theme as the workshop at ORF, a recent RAND report on China’s military modernization has dubbed it incomplete. It states that while the PLA is becoming more professional and more capable, the report said two major weaknesses still remain in the Chinese military. First, the current organizational structure and human capital issues are becoming an obstacle for PLA ground, air and naval forces to launch joint operations. The PLA’s logistical capabilities form the second weakness.
Report prepared by Pushan Das, Research Assistant, ORF Delhi)
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