The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century (Asian Security Studies S.)

247 Pages·2006·0.98 MB·English

by  Dennis J. Blasko

THE CHINESE ARMY TODAY
The Chinese Army Today is a unique and comprehensive study of all elements of
Chinese military modernization, focusing on the ground forces to a degree not found
in other contemporary work.
In 1999, the military modernization program of the Chinese People’s Liberation
Army that had been underway for 20 years increased in intensity and achieved a
focus not seen in the previous two decades. Based primarily on Chinese sources,
this book details the changes and key developments implemented since 1999 and
puts them in the context of the many traditions that still remain.
Dennis Blasko uses first-hand observation of the Chinese military and three
decades of military experience to weave many disparate threads from official
Chinese statements, documents, and media reports into an integrated whole. This
volume defines what forces make up the People’s Liberation Army and examines
in detail ground force organization and structure, personnel policies, doctrine and
training, new equipment entering the force, and missions routinely undertaken in
support of society.
This book will be essential reading for students of the Chinese military, Chinese
politics, Asian regional security, and strategic studies in general.
Dennis J. Blasko served 23 years in the US Army as a military intelligence officer
and foreign area officer specializing in China. He was an army attaché in Beijing
and Hong Kong from 1992 to 1996, and previously served in infantry units in
Germany, Italy, and Korea.
ASIAN SECURITY STUDIES
Series Editors:
Sumit Ganguly, Indiana University, Bloomington
and Andrew Scobell, US Army War College
Few regions of the world are fraught with as many security questions as Asia. Within
this region it is possible to study great power rivalries, irredentist conflicts, nuclear
and ballistic missile proliferation, secessionist movements, ethnoreligious conflicts
and inter-state wars. This new book series will publish the best possible scholarship
on the security issues affecting the region, and will include detailed empirical
studies, theoretically oriented case studies and policy-relevant analyses as well as
more general works.
CHINA AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Alternate Paths to Global Power
Marc Lanteigne
CHINA’S RISING SEA POWER
The PLA Navy’s Submarine Challenge
Peter Howarth
IF CHINA ATTACKS TAIWAN
Military Strategy, Politics and Economics
Edited by Steve Tsang
CHINESE CIVIL–MILITARY RELATIONS
The Transformation of the People’s Liberation Army
Edited by Nan Li
THE CHINESE ARMY TODAY
Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century
Dennis J. Blasko
TAIWAN’S SECURITY
History and Prospects
Bernard D. Cole
THE CHINESE ARMY
TODAY
Tradition and transformation for
the 21st century
Dennis J. Blasko
First published 2006
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2006 Dennis J. Blasko
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN10 0–415–77002–5 ISBN13 9–780–415–77002–6 (hbk)
ISBN10 0–415–77003–3 ISBN13 9–780–415–77003–3 (pbk)
For my father,
Max J. Blasko
CONTENTS
List of illustrations viii
List of tables ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
List of abbreviations xv
1 Introduction 1
2 What is the PLA? 16
3 Who is the PLA? 47
4 Where is the PLA? 66
5 How will the PLA fight? 91
6 What equipment does the PLA use? 121
7 How does the PLA train? 144
8 What is the role of the PLA in Chinese society? 171
9 Conclusions and the ghosts of Tiananmen 182
Notes 195
Select bibliography 221
Index 224
vii
ILLUSTRATIONS
Plates
(between pages 124 and 125)
1 Ministry of Public Security police
2 People’s Armed Police squad in Tiananmen Square
3 People’s Armed Police in winter uniforms
4 People’s Armed Police squad exercising in the Forbidden City
5 PLA NCO Grade 3 in field camouflage uniform
6 PLA lieutenant general visiting Pearl Harbor
7 Brigadier General G.O. Sealock with PLA officers
8 Civilian MPS anti-riot police
9 PLA female civilian and senior colonel in spring/autumn uniform
10 PLA first lieutenant, 6th Artillery Brigade, in winter uniform
11 Type 89 SP anti-tank gun training simulator
12 Type 96 main battle tank, Beijing military parade, October 1999
13 Company-size inland amphibious training area
14 Mortar platoon in drill at amphibious training area
15 PLA cadets at grenade throwing
16 PLA ground force Honor Guard in ceremonial uniform
Figures
2.1 National-level organizations 26
2.2 Military Regions 33
2.3 Military Region structure 34
2.4 Brigade/regimental headquarters structure 40
2.5 Group Army structure 43
3.1 Collar insignia 48
3.2 PLA cap insignia 48
3.3 PLA civilian collar insignia and epaulet 64
viii
TABLES
2.1 China’s security apparatus 19
2.2 Estimated personnel numbers 42
3.1 NCO categories and ranks 53
3.2 PLA officer duty position grades and military ranks 57
3.3 Basic-level PLA ground force academies or institutes and locations 60
4.1 Shenyang Military Region forces 76
4.2 Beijing Military Region forces 78
4.3 Lanzhou Military Region forces 80
4.4 Jinan Military Region forces 81
4.5 Nanjing Military Region forces 82
4.6 Guangzhou Military Region forces 84
4.7 Chengdu Military Region forces 86
4.8 Four-digit PAP zongdui 88
6.1 Types and estimated numbers of helicopters 138
8.1 Chinese participation in UN peacekeeping missions 179
ix