The People's Liberation Army in its Tenth Decade: Assessing 'Below the Neck' Reforms in China's Military Modernization

摘要

A slew of structural changes to the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) combat capabilities, deterrence as well as military operations other than war (MOOTW) were enacted following the announcement to streamline China's armed forces in September 2015. Primarily driven by the Chinese military leadership's desire to resolve longstanding shortcomings in the PLA's ability to conduct combined arms and joint operations, unprecedented changes in the form of so-called 'below the neck' reforms gathered pace since the end of 2016. By focusing on those changes to the PLA's established service branches as well as 'new types' of forces, this brief introduction will provide a summary of the prospects and problems as the Chinese military embarks on its latest endeavour to modernise itself.