Recent Publications - Category China Landpower Studies Center

2026 Carlisle Conference on the PLA: The PLA’s Capability to React to Crises
April 16, 2026 — The US Army War College (USAWC) Strategic Studies Institute’s (SSI) held its annual Carlisle Conference on the PLA on March 25 and 26, 2026, in the Army Heritage and Education Center at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The China Landpower Studies Center (CLSC) successfully hosted the event for the second time, bringing together more than 100 war fighters, policymakers, and China-focused experts to analyze and debate the PRC’s capabilities to react to regional and strategic-level crises. Participants from the US Department of War and Intelligence Community joined professionals from academia, think tanks, private industry, and other US government organizations to listen and respond to a series of expert panels and discuss panelist findings and other topics of interest in impactful breakout discussions... MORE

PLA Army Places Growing Emphasis on Tactical Indirect Firepower with New Grenade Discharger
April 13, 2026 — Joaquin Camarena... MORE

Slide for the CLSC Quick Take PLA Army Places Growing Emphasis on Tactical Indirect Firepower with New Grenade Discharger by Joaquin Camarena

Achieving Victory Through Quantity: PLA Theorists Propose Different Modernization and War-Fighting Pattern
March 30, 2026 — Kevin McCauley... MORE

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New Tanks Mark PLA Army’s Integration of System Warfare at the Tactical Level
March 23, 2026 — Joaquin Camarena... MORE

Slide for the CLSC Quick Take, New Tanks Mark PLA Army’s Integration of System Warfare at the Tactical Level

The New Reserve Personnel ID Card: How the PLA is Streamlining Mobilization and Improving the Status of Military Reservists in Chinese Society
March 16, 2026 — Joshua Arostegui... MORE

Slide for CLSC Quick Take, The New Reserve Personnel ID Card: How the PLA is Streamlining Mobilization and Improving the Status of Military Reservists in Chinese Society

Securing the Rice Bowl: PRC Agricultural Hardening as a Strategic Maneuver Multiplier
February 17, 2026 — Ali Ayoub... MORE

Slide for Securing the Rice Bowl: PRC Agricultural Hardening as a Strategic Maneuver Multiplier

The PLA’s Joint Operations Training Reform Remains in an Exploratory Phase
February 12, 2026 — K. Tristan Tang... MORE

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Frustrating the Fait Accompli: How Rocket Artillery Changes the Taiwan Situation
February 11, 2026 — 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 concept and effectively transforms Taiwan’s strike capabilities. Just as the rise of rocket artillery in Europe a few years ago challenged the assumed speed at which Russia could seize the Baltic states, the rocket and missile capabilities outlined in the new arms package fundamentally alter the calculus of a potential Chinese invasion across the Taiwan Strait. Specifically, the emerging capabilities, nested within an asymmetric-warfare concept, provide Taiwan the ability to increase survivability through dispersion, strike targets in China, and concentrate fires to frustrate nearly every step of an amphibious operation... MORE

Slide for Frustrating the Fait Accompli: How Rocket Artillery Changes the Taiwan Situation

PLA Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Close Air Support Are Still Under Development
February 4, 2026 — Dennis J. Blasko... MORE

Slide for PLA Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Close Air Support Are Still Under Development by Dennis J. Blasko

If China Attacks Taiwan: Beijing Risks Social Instability in a Conflict
February 4, 2026 — 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... MORE

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

PLA Navy Marine Corps Tank Companies Emphasize Expeditionary Capabilities
January 27, 2026 — Joaquin Camarena... MORE

Slide for PLA Navy Marine Corps Tank Companies Emphasize Expeditionary Capabilities by Joaquin Camarena

Theory Meets Practice: The PLA National Defense University Revives the Operational Instructor Program
January 27, 2026 — Dennis J. Blasko... MORE

Slide for Theory Meets Practice: The PLA National Defense University Revives the Operational Instructor Program by Dennis J. Blasko