CLSC Articles

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China Landpower Studies Center | May 6, 2026

China Maritime Report #53: Filling the Ranks: China's Military Recruitin...

This report outlines People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) recruiting processes within the overarching context of China’s military personnel accession systems. Within China, most recruitment, mobilization, and service assignment of military personnel

China Landpower Studies Center | Feb. 11, 2026

Frustrating the Fait Accompli: How Rocket Artillery Changes the Taiwan S...

China is furious about the United States’ recently announced $11 billion arms deal with Taiwan, and for good reason. Beyond simply comprising a significant assortment of military equipment, the package supports Taiwan’s developing asymmetric-warfare

China Landpower Studies Center | Feb. 4, 2026

If China Attacks Taiwan: Beijing Risks Social Instability in a Conflict

A conversation between Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Dr. Jake Rinaldi, and Bonnie Glaser on the risk of domestic social instability for Beijing if China attacked Taiwan. A podcast from The German Marshall Fund of the United States.

China Landpower Studies Center | Jan. 14, 2026

Can the 15th Five-Year Plan Fix the People’s Liberation Army’s Procureme...

China’s newly released 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) proposal, unveiled after the Fourth Party Plenum in October 2025, not only marks Beijing’s quest to achieve the People’s Liberation Army’s goal of building a so-called world-class military by

China Landpower Studies Center | Jan. 6, 2026

If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of "Minor Conflict" ...

Introduction by Bonnie S. Glaser: Research on the possibility and likely outcome of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait has expanded rapidly in recent years. Studies have focused on a broad range of questions related to deterrence, potential conflict

China Landpower Studies Center | Nov. 13, 2025

China’s Foreign Police Training: A Global Footprint

New data reveal how China’s foreign police training programs have become an integral part of Beijing’s strategy to remake global security.

China Landpower Studies Center | Nov. 7, 2025

Forecasting the PRC’s Next Global Initiative

Executive Summary:• Xi Jinping could unveil a “global environmental initiative” as soon as mid-November 2025, at the COP31 summit in Brazil. This would align with previous initiatives that have been announced at international forums.• This new

China Landpower Studies Center | Oct. 27, 2025

The PLA’s Progress toward World-Class Ground Force Capabilities

This essay examines Xi Jinping’s dictum of creating a world-class military by 2049 and assesses the progress of the PLA ground forces toward achieving that notional benchmark.

China Landpower Studies Center | Sept. 30, 2025

Global Public Security with Chinese Characteristics

A conversation between Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Bonnie Glaser on China's Global Security Initiative.

China Landpower Studies Center | Sept. 26, 2025

Adapting to Future Wars: The Reorganization of the PLA Army’s Special Op...

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) implemented major changes to the organization, accession, and training of its army’s special operations forces (SOF) beginning in 2017, including the creation of a 12-man SOF team and establishment of a probable

China Landpower Studies Center | Sept. 5, 2025

China’s September 2025 Military Parade: How PLA Ground Forces Are Adapt...

China’s military parades are often viewed as a form of deterrence by giving Xi Jinping an opportunity to showcase the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) advanced weapons systems to the world and bring like-minded authoritarian leaders from partner

China Landpower Studies Center | Aug. 13, 2025

A New World Cop on the Beat? China’s Internal Security Outreach Under th...

Global outreach by China’s internal security agencies is expanding. This nonmilitary security diplomacy plays a crucial yet overlooked role in Chinese foreign security policy. Watch Now

China Landpower Studies Center | June 26, 2025

Planning for Protracted Conflict With China: Five Questions to Ask

Where and how a conflict starts will affect the kind of war it will be.

China Landpower Studies Center | June 3, 2025

Assessing the PLA’s Strengths and Weaknesses for Achieving the PRC’s Goals

This chapter examines the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) within the context of its modernization process and argues that the persistence of shortcomings may undercut the confidence senior leaders would prefer

China Landpower Studies Center | May 8, 2025

Ecuador’s Incoming Government Faces Difficult Choices Regarding China

With Daniel Noboa returning to the presidency and a new Chinese ambassador on the way, China-Ecuador relations are at an inflection point.From April 22-25, I had the opportunity to travel to Quito, Ecuador, to address an international forum on China

China Landpower Studies Center | May 8, 2025

China’s Coming Diplomatic Blitz in the Americas

The next few months will bring a series of high-profile multilateral engagements between China and Latin American countries, as Beijing seeks to capitalize on discontent with Trump.In the coming three months, China will have a number of opportunities

China Landpower Studies Center | April 29, 2025

Transnational Organized Crime in Mexico and the Government’s Response

The US government threats of tariffs on the Mexican government if it did not do more to control illicit fentanyl flows into the United States have cast new attention on the growing problem of transnational organized crime that has wrought violence

China Landpower Studies Center | April 24, 2025

Waging War without Disruption: China’s People’s Armed Police in a Future...

As one of the three branches of China’s armed forces, the People’s Armed Police (PAP) (人民武装警察) operates alongside the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) (人民解放军) and the militia (民兵) as a key instrument of Chinese Communist Party power. According to the

Publications | March 18, 2025

North Korea in Ukraine: Analyzing Authoritarian Cooperation

The deployment of North Korean forces to Ukraine marks a critical inflection point in global security dynamics, challenging long-held assumptions about the limits of cooperation between authoritarian states. This development, unprecedented in its

China Landpower Studies Center | Feb. 20, 2025

Freezing Point: PLA Army Expeditionary Units Lack Readiness for Extreme ...

In 2024, the US Department of Defense promulgated the latest edition of its Arctic Strategy, highlighting the need to enhance domain awareness and operational readiness to safeguard US and allied interests in the Arctic region. The Arctic possesses

China Landpower Studies Center | Jan. 14, 2025

Evolution of the Latin American Strategic Environment and the Posture of...

The security environment in Latin America and the Caribbean continues to evolve, driven in part by dramatic underlying changes in the broader global dynamics. Latin American security forces, constrained by a combination of resources and

China Landpower Studies Center | Jan. 14, 2025

Rethinking Denial: The People’s Liberation Army’s Laser Systems and the ...

In a future Taiwan contingency, the United States and its allies and partners are poised to leverage large-scale autonomous unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations to counter China’s anti-access/area denial strategy. This approach aims to mitigate

Publications | Jan. 8, 2025

Assessing the Effectiveness of US Army Campaigning in the Indo-Pacific

Applying the military instrument of power is essential to deterrence and assurance in the Indo-Pacific. This essay explores the underappreciated application of Landpower in this critical region and assesses the effects of a few activities that assure

Publications | Dec. 5, 2024

China’s Next Step in Modernizing the People’s Liberation Army: A New Res...

The Chinese Communist Party’s massive active-duty army—the largest in the world—understates the manpower available to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) during a future protracted war. Despite the hundreds of thousands of combat troops garrisoned

China Landpower Studies Center | Nov. 26, 2024

China’s Summit Diplomacy: Insights From BRICS, APEC and the G20

From late October through mid-November, China’s President Xi Jinping held high-profile engagements in three very different major international forums: the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia; the APEC Leadership Forum in Lima, Peru; and the G-20 summit in

China Landpower Studies Center | Nov. 7, 2024

Strategic Implication of the Chinese-Operated Port of Chancay

This article examines the Port of Chancay from a strategic perspective, with a focus on how COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company) achieved unprecedented control over the operation of the new Peruvian megaport, the impact that the port is likely to

China Landpower Studies Center | Oct. 17, 2024

China in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A New Dynamic in Critical...

Critical minerals will continue to grow in importance across the globe in the coming decades as technological advancements require greater quantities of these materials. The 2023 US Department of Energy Critical Materials Assessment report listed

China Landpower Studies Center | Oct. 15, 2024

Re-Asserting the Value of the Individual for Latin America’s Security an...

Empowerment of the individual, not the state, is the key to innovation, prosperity, physical and political security for Latin America, as the region engages with an unprecedented array of challenges and new partners.

China Landpower Studies Center | Oct. 9, 2024

PRC Strategic Adaptation in Africa

The People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s expanding security footprint in Africa, marked by increased military cooperation and infrastructure investments, poses a significant challenge to US strategic interests. As outlined in the Department of

China Landpower Studies Center | Oct. 9, 2024

Peace and Unity: China’s Growing Military Footprint in Tanzania

The July and August 2024 Sino-Tanzanian training exercise Peace Unity-2024 (和平团结-2024) provided the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) an opportunity to apply its growing joint expeditionary capability, while also strengthening its relationship with a

China Landpower Studies Center | Oct. 4, 2024

Understanding the PRC’s Selective Use of Military Hotlines

Executive Summary: The PRC’s strategic use of and reluctance to establish military hotlines reflect a calculated approach to escalation risk, which can be seen in crises ranging from the accidental bombing of its embassy in Belgrade in 1999 to the

Publications | Sept. 18, 2024

The Growing Significance of China-Russia Defense Cooperation

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two recent meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, especially his visit to Beijing in May, reinforced US and allied concerns about the China-Russia relationship, especially the two countries’ growing security

China Landpower Studies Center | Sept. 12, 2024

Bolivia and US Dilemmas in Engaging with Problematic Regimes in Latin Am...

I recently had the opportunity to engage with a senior Bolivian colleague connected with the government of Luis Arce regarding the country’s economic and political difficulties and its relationship with the United States. Their fundamental question

China Landpower Studies Center | Aug. 27, 2024

The Impact of the Political Orientation of Latin America, on the Advance...

Latin America is currently undergoing unprecedented political shifts. This phenomenon is characterized by the recent electoral victories of left-ofcenter candidates in Mexico in 2018; Argentina in 2019; Peru, Honduras, and Chile in 2021; and in

China Landpower Studies Center | Aug. 2, 2024

Secrecy and Solidarity: PRC Internal Security Partnerships with Socialis...

Publication: China Brief Volume: 24 Issue: 15, The Jamestown Foundation: Global Research & AnalysisThe People’s Republic of China (PRC) engages in extensive security cooperation with other single-party socialist states. This includes deploying the

China Landpower Studies Center | July 10, 2024

What’s Behind South Korea’s New Defectors’ Day Holiday?

The inaugural July commemoration is an inflection point and an opportunity for the Yoon government to advance both domestic and foreign policy priorities.On July 14, South Korea will commemorate its inaugural North Korean Defectors’ Day. The new

China Landpower Studies Center | July 1, 2024

Landpower, Homeland Defense, and Defending Forward in US Indo-Pacific Co...

Homeland defense does not begin at the water’s edge, at least not on the east and west coasts of the United States. In the twenty-first–century geopolitical environment, the definition of homeland defense must now extend well beyond North American

China Landpower Studies Center | June 24, 2024

PODCAST: Chinese Strategy and Statecraft: Coercion and Competition in th...

What are the objectives of China’s foreign and security policies under Xi Jinping? What is the role of Australia and other middle powers in responding to Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific? Are the United States’ China policies set to change with

China Landpower Studies Center | June 24, 2024

PODCAST: Paramilitaries Abroad: China’s Use of Nontraditional Security F...

Episode 107 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines how China uses its paramilitary and internal security forces to project power abroad and build global influence.Our guests begin by dissecting the Chinese security apparatus: contrasting the

Publications | May 29, 2024

Playing Both Sides of the U.S.-Chinese Rivalry

Why Countries Get External Security from Washington—and Internal Security from BeijingOn a visit to Budapest in late February, China’s minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong, secured a face-to-face meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor

Publications | April 11, 2024

War with China: A View from Early 2024

US defense analysts are overdue for a fundamental reassessment of the strategic factors that would shape a future Sino-American war.The United States may lower the overall risk of sparking a war between Washington and Beijing by more formally

Publications | April 9, 2024

A Baseline Assessment of the PLA Army's Border Reinforcement Operations ...

This report analyzes the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) border reinforcement operation throughout the Aksai Chin and adjacent areas from summer 2020 to early 2021. It is based largely on analysis of Google Earth imagery and provides a baseline for

China Landpower Studies Center | March 22, 2024

Implications for Modern Warfighting Concepts: What the US Army Can Learn...

These four historic vignettes provide context and lessons learned for the US Army as it returns to peer conflict. Although history does not account for the cyber and space domains, the leaders involved in the highlighted conflicts dealt with the

Publications | March 20, 2024

Arming Allies and Partners: How Foreign Military Sales Can Change the Ch...

Allies and partners are “a center of gravity” for the DoD National Defense Strategy in the Indo-Pacific. But are regional nations building military capacity to help the United States prepare for and deter a potential clash with the People’s Republic

China Landpower Studies Center | Feb. 20, 2024

Why North Korea Survives

Here’s how the Kim regime has proven so resilient.North Korea’s recent jettisoning of reunification with South Korea as a national goal has raised much speculation about Pyongyang’s goals and strategy. Relatively overlooked in recent debates over

China Landpower Studies Center | Feb. 14, 2024

CMSI Note #4: Deck Cargo Ships: Another Option for a Cross-Strait Invasion

CMSI Perspectives and Key Take-Aways: In addition to RO-RO ferries, the PLA also uses another class of RO-RO ship, the deck cargo ship, in sea transport training exercises. Deck cargo ships are widely used in China’s ocean engineering and

China Landpower Studies Center | Feb. 8, 2024

The Mixed Message About China's Economy

Chinese Premier Li Qiang spoke this week at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, saying the Chinese economy was doing just fine. Signals out of Beijing have been conveying a different message.SHEENA CHESTNUT GREITENS: So I think that the idea

China Landpower Studies Center | Nov. 15, 2023

China Maritime Report No. 32: The PCH191 Modular Long-Range Rocket Launc...

With its fielding of the PCH191 multiple rocket launcher (MRL) and its variety of long-range precision munitions, the PLA Army (PLAA) has become arguably the most important contributor of campaign and tactical firepower during a joint island landing

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