In our second newsletter, we will share the China Landpower Studies Center (CLSC) team’s latest analysis and insights on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). We hope you find this information valuable and share it with your network and encourage them to subscribe.
We appreciate your interest in the CLSC’s work.
Quarterly Highlights
- North Korea in Ukraine: Analyzing Authoritarian Cooperation
Dr. Jake Rinaldi
CLSC Website
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. By examining North Korea’s intervention, potential future developments in bilateral ties, and the broader regional and global consequences of these dynamics, this analysis underscores the urgency of reevaluating simplistic narratives about authoritarian unity.
- Freezing Point: PLA Army Expeditionary Units Lack Readiness for Extreme and Hazardous Cold Weather
Mr. Jake Vartanian
CLSC Website
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. Supporting PLA literature suggests a growing emphasis on the development of Arctic capabilities within the force that is nested in the overarching PLA modernization effort. As of 2024, the PLA Army fields Arctic-capable expeditionary units, but these units lack readiness to conduct operations in extreme and hazardous cold weather, indicated by a lack of training under such conditions and limitations in communications and equipment support.
- Evolution of the Latin American Strategic Environment and the Posture of Its Security Forces
Dr. R. Evan Ellis
CLSC Website
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 administrative and political factors, struggle with varying degrees of effectiveness to adapt. This paper describes some of those interdependent changes in the strategic environment, and those reactions. It argues that the long-discussed imperatives of globalization themselves are evolving, with dramatic implications for the region.
- Rethinking Denial: The People’s Liberation Army’s Laser Systems and the Future Challenges for Hellscape
Dr. Jake Rinaldi and Mr. Jake Vartanian
CLSC Website
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. As the United States and Taiwan ramp up the acquisition and proliferation of unmanned systems, China is concurrently developing advanced counter-UAS technologies designed to resolve existing deficiencies and neutralize this threat. The PRC’s development and acquisition of counter-UAS technology poses a significant challenge for the implementation of the hellscape concept and, thus, undermines the success of future US and allied operations in the Taiwan Strait.
- Assessing the Effectiveness of US Army Campaigning in the Indo-Pacific
COL Richard D. Butler and Mr. Jimmy Bell
CLSC Website
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 allies and partners and deter the People’s Republic of China. The discreet examples in this short article provide a stronger foundation for understanding military dynamics in the region and allow for better future assessments of integrated deterrence efforts.
Recent CLSC Dialogues Podcasts of Interest
Potential Forms of Russian Support for China in a Protracted War
Dr. Brian Carlson and Dr. David Stone
In this episode, Brian Carlson interviews David Stone, a Russia expert from the US Naval War College, about the potential forms of support that Russia might—or might not—provide to China in the event of a protracted war in the Indo-Pacific.
What the Future Holds – Upcoming Events and Publications
In our next quarterly update, the CLSC team’s research and analysis will focus on:
- Updates to the Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP)
- Insights into modern-day PRC views on protracted war
- Strengths and weaknesses of PLA joint logistics storage and supply bases
2025 Carlisle Conference on the PLA
We are excited to share that we have begun planning the 2025 Carlisle Conference on the PLA, tentatively scheduled for October 2025. More updates to come!
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Links to China PME Center Websites
Institute for National Strategic Studies
China Maritime Studies Institute
China Aerospace Studies Institute
China Landpower Studies Center