Recent Publications - Category China Landpower Studies Center

GL-6–Equipped ZTZ-96A Main Battle Tanks Highlight the PLAA’s Emphasis on Incorporating Lessons Learned from the Russia-Ukraine War for Taiwan
June 24, 2026 — Joaquin Camarena and Anthony Costanzo... MORE

CLSC Quick Take: GL-6–Equipped ZTZ-96A Main Battle Tanks Highlight the PLAA’s Emphasis on Incorporating Lessons Learned from the Russia-Ukraine War for Taiwan by Joaquin Camarena and Anthony Costanzo

China Maritime Report #55: Loading the Well Deck: The PLA Navy's Maturing Role in Projecting Joint Ground Forces
June 24, 2026 — Since 2023, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has established an annualized rhythm of loading PLA Army (PLAA) combat, engineering, and support units onto PLA Navy (PLAN) amphibious ships for international exercises. This integration signals a maturation in Chinese expeditionary logistics, providing Beijing with the proven framework to project sustained, multi-domain combat mass well beyond its regional periphery... MORE

China Maritime Report #55: Loading the Well Deck: The PLA Navy's Maturing Role in Projecting Joint Ground Forces by Joshua Arostegui

Systems Over Steel: How China is Redefining Amphibious Armor Survivability
June 22, 2026 — The contemporary discourse on drone-driven warfare rarely suggests the end of maneuver, but it highlights an increasingly perilous gap between tactical movement and force survivability in a hypertransparent environment. Against this backdrop, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s sustained commitment to amphibious armor invites examination of how a high-end force intends to bridge that gap in the contested littoral space... MORE

Systems Over Steel: How China is Redefining Amphibious Armor Survivability by Joshua Arostegui, published by the Modern War Institute at West Point

The Z-21’s External Fuel Tanks Expand the PLAA’s Planning Options for Helicopter Missions
June 5, 2026 — Joaquin Camarena... MORE

CLSC Quick Takes: The Z-21’s External Fuel Tanks Expand the PLAA’s Planning Options for Helicopter Missions by Joaquin Camarena

Between Beijing and the Budget: The Domestic Realities of Taiwan’s Defense Spending Drama
June 2, 2026 — Taiwan's legislature spent six months blocking a major defense budget, then passed a scaled-down version days before the Trump-Xi summit. Jessica C. Liao and Kyle Marcrum argue why the story the US media tells is flawed... MORE

Slide for Between Beijing and the Budget: The Domestic Realities of Taiwan’s Defense Spending Drama, by Jessica C. Liao and Kyle Marcrum

“An Enviable Position in the Pacific”: An interview with General Xavier Brunson
May 22, 2026 — Guest host Tom Spahr and General Xavier Brunson, commander of United Nations Command, ROK-US Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea (UNC/CFC/USFK), discuss Korea, the Indo-Pacific, and mission command... MORE

CLSC Dialogues podcast episode 29: "An Enviable Position in the Pacific," an interview with GEN Xavier Brunson

Corruption and PLA Generals
May 20, 2026 — Rick Gunnell... MORE

CLSC Quick Takes: Corruption and PLA Generals by Rick Gunnell

Decoding China’s 15th Five-Year Plan
May 15, 2026 — China’s latest Five-Year Plan signals that it has become more pessimistic about the global environment, seeing it as uncertain and unstable. However, the Chinese Communist Party sees opportunity in that instability to promote the Community of Common Destiny, their new model of global governance. The Five-Year Plan also signals that the Chinese will continue to use the United Nations to advance this new global governance system... MORE

Slide for Decoding China’s 15th Five-Year Plan by COL Kyle Marcrum, published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute

Taiwan’s Special Defense Budget and KMT Trip to Beijing, Part 2
May 14, 2026 — In part two of this two-part episode, COL Kyle Marcrum and Dr. Jessica Liao discuss Taiwan President Lai’s special defense budget and the Kuomingdang Chair, Cheng Li-wun, visit to Beijing... MORE

CLSC Dialogues podcast: Taiwan’s Special Defense Budget and KMT Trip to Beijing, Part 2, COL Kyle Marcrum and Dr. Jessica Liao

Taiwan’s Special Defense Budget and KMT Trip to Beijing, Part 1
May 13, 2026 — In part one of this two-part episode, COL Kyle Marcrum and Dr. Jessica Liao discuss Taiwan President Lai’s special defense budget and why it is stalled in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan... MORE

CLSC Dialogues podcast: Taiwan’s Special Defense Budget and KMT Trip to Beijing, Part 1, COL Kyle Marcrum and Dr Jessica Liao

Sustaining the Vanguard: PRC Subsistence Modernization and the Calculus of PLA Endurance
May 11, 2026 — Ali Ayoub... MORE

CLSC Quick Take: Sustaining the Vanguard: PRC Subsistence Modernization and the Calculus of PLA Endurance by Ali Ayoub

China Maritime Report #53: Filling the Ranks: China's Military Recruiting System and the PLA Navy
May 6, 2026 — 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 is managed through a centralized national military service system, with individual services retaining some recruitment authorities for officers, sergeants, and civilians. It is not possible to effectively discuss Navy recruitment without understanding this overarching system. ... MORE

Slide for China Maritime Report #53: Filling the Ranks: China's Military Recruiting System and the PLA Navy by Erin Richter and Joshua Arostegui