Recent Publications

An Interview with Dennis Blasko
July 15, 2024 — In episode 13 of CLSC Dialogues, Josh Arostegui, and Rick Gunnell interview renowned China expert Dennis Blasko. They discuss the origins of Blasko's interest in China and the PLA, then delve into his research and writing on Chinese landpower. Blasko provides wisdom and insight China watchers as they continue the tradition of researching, analyzing, and educating. ... MORE

On "War with China: A View from Early 2024"
July 2, 2024 — Episode 12 of CLSC Dialogues: In 2012, the late diplomat and RAND Corporation Senior Fellow James Dobbins wrote an article titled “War with China,” which was published in the journal Survival. The article asserted that there were several potential cases for conflict with China, including North Korea’s collapse and an unrestrained Sino-Indian border war. ... ... MORE

Decisive Decade: PRC Global Strategy and the PLA as a Pacing Challenge – 2023 PLA Conference – Updated and Expanded
April 17, 2024 — The US Army War College’s 2023 Conference on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was held February 22 to 24, 2023, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The conference, entitled “Decisive Decade: PRC Global Strategy and the PLA as Pacing Challenge,” featured presentations on PRC global and regional strategy, and the PLA’s enabling role by experts from a wide range of academic, media, and government agencies and organizations... MORE

A Baseline Assessment of the PLA Army's Border Reinforcement Operations in the Aksai Chin in 2020 and 2021
April 9, 2024 — 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 further analysis of the PLA deployment along the entire Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Aksai Chin. Chinese Army units appear ready to remain in a defensive posture near the LAC the Aksai Chin indefinitely. ... MORE

PRC Engagement with Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe: Comparisons and Insights
February 8, 2024 — PRC Engagement with Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe: Comparisons and Insights R. Evan Ellis Over the past twenty years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has expanded its political, institutional, economic, and other forms of engagement with all regions of the world. Not surprisingly, because engagement in Latin America and the... MORE

PRC Engagement with Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe: Comparisons and Insights | R. Evan Ellis

China Maritime Report No. 32: The PCH191 Modular Long-Range Rocket Launcher: Reshaping the PLA Army's Role in a Cross-Strait Campaign
November 15, 2023 — 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 campaign against Taiwan. No longer simply the primary source of amphibious and air assault forces,... MORE

"China Maritime Report No. 32: The PCH191 Modular Long-Range Rocket Lau" by Joshua Arostegui (usnwc.edu)

PRC Engagement in The Bahamas
August 2, 2023 — R. Evan Ellis Introduction In his March 2023 annual posture statement to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, head of U.S. Northern Command General Glen VanHerck referred to the substantial commercial and other presence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Bahamas as “efforts to gain a foothold only 50 miles from the U.S. East... MORE

PRC Engagement in The Bahamas
R. Evan Ellis
China, South & Latin America, SSI Worldwide

China’s Future Military Capabilities
May 22, 2023 — The 2022 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America identifies China as the “pacing challenge” for the US military. This podcast examines the process by which China’s military capabilities are developed, the capabilities China’s military is seeking to acquire in the future, and the resulting implications for the US military. To date, all the extant studies have merely described the capabilities the People’s Liberation Army is currently acquiring... MORE

PLA Logistics and Sustainment | PLA Conference 2022
January 20, 2023 — This volume of conference papers was presented at the US Army War College People’s Liberation Army Conference held March 31 to April 2, 2022, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The conference examined the sustainment and logistics capabilities of China’s military and assessed its ability to support large-scale operations.The US Army War College... MORE

PLA Logistics and Sustainment (PLA) Conference 2022
US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press

Enabling a More Externally Focused and Operational PLA – 2020 PLA Conference Papers
July 27, 2022 — Although the People’s Liberation Army is not yet a global expeditionary force on par with the US military, the former has nevertheless significantly expanded its ability to operate abroad. Through enhanced technological capabilities, robust relationships with foreign militaries, increased access to overseas military bases and dual-use facilities,... MORE

Enabling a More Externally Focused and Operational PLA – 2020 PLA Conference Papers
US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press

The People of the PLA 2.0
July 23, 2021 — The 27th annual People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Conference—“The People in the PLA” 2.0—revisited a theme first explored at the 2006 conference but understudied since. This volume examines how the structure, education, training, and recruitment of PLA personnel have changed in the last decade and in the Xi Jinping era.Structural changes in the PLA... MORE

The People of the PLA 2.0 by Roy Kamphausen
https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/944/

“Disintegrating the Enemy - The PLA’s Info-Messaging”
September 8, 2020 — The DoD can exploit weaknesses in Chinese military attempts at political warfare, or “enemy disintegration,” most recently observed in PLA media on the subject of the pandemic. Targeted information efforts will signal the United States’ refusal to be intimidated, expose untruths in Chinese government messaging to its citizens, and reassure relevant... MORE