Recent Publications

China’s September 2025 Military Parade: How PLA Ground Forces Are Adapting to Future Wars and Force Projection
September 5, 2025 — 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 states together in a show of unity against the Western-led international liberal order. The extravagant events, however, also open a window into understanding Beijing’s expectation of how and where it will fight in the future. Despite the unveiling of several new weapons driven through Tiananmen Square during the 70-minute parade, most of them, like the YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile and LY-1 shipborne laser air defense system, were designed to deter and defeat the United States and its allies in the air and maritime domains of the Indo-Pacific region. Yet, the first formations of vehicles to cross in front of Xi and his guests, those belonging to the PLA Army (PLAA), PLA Air Force Airborne Corps (PLAAFAC), and PLA Navy Marine Corps (PLANMC), represented something different: an acknowledgement that future wars will be global and force projection needs to be accompanied by land-based firepower and protection... MORE

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More Than a Numbers Game: Comparing US and Chinese Landpower in the Pacific Requires Context
September 3, 2025 — This episode features the authors of the recently published monograph More Than a Numbers Game: Comparing US and Chinese Landpower in the Pacific Requires Context... MORE

Cover for CLSC Dialogues – Ep 23 – Joshua Arostegui, Brennan Deveraux, and Rick Gunnell – More Than a Numbers Game: Comparing US and Chinese Landpower in the Pacific Requires Context

Academic Year 2025–26 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment
July 9, 2025 — The United States faces a complex and ever-changing global environment. The Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment is designed to guide the collective defense community to research and write about critical national security challenges to help the Army prepare for a wide range of potential conflicts and threats... MORE

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Planning for Protracted Conflict With China: Five Questions to Ask
June 26, 2025 — Where and how a conflict starts will affect the kind of war it will be... MORE

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Assessing the PLA’s Strengths and Weaknesses for Achieving the PRC’s Goals
June 3, 2025 — 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 to have before deciding to initiate major combat... MORE

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China Landpower Studies Center Newsletter II
May 20, 2025 — 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)... MORE

LTG Matthew McFarlane: Commanding General of America's First Corps
April 14, 2025 — Today we are talking with Lieutenant General Matthew McFarlane, the commanding general of America's I Corps, headquartered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Having served with distinction at all levels of the Army and Joint Force, he now leads the Army's senior tactical headquarters in the Indo-Pacific. Today we'll be chatting about his views of the operational environment and the hard work the Corps is doing across the Indo-Pacific... MORE

CLSC Dialogues | Commanding General of America’s First Corps

How Chinese Leaders Conceptualize Protracted War
April 11, 2025 — You're listening to CLSC Dialogues, a China Landpower Studies Center production. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army, the U.S. Army War College, or any other agency of the U.S. government. I’m Jake Rinaldi, a defense analyst at the China Landpower... MORE

CLSC Dialogues – Ep 21 – Dan Rice – How Chinese Leaders Conceptualize Protracted War

China Landpower Studies Center Newsletter I
January 31, 2025 — With the start of the New Year, the China Landpower Studies Center (CLSC) would like to share with you the team’s latest analysis and insights on the People's Liberation Army (PLA).If you find value in this newsletter, please share it with colleagues and invite them to subscribe.Quarterly Highlights: Understanding the PRC’s Selective Use of... MORE

Rethinking Denial: The People’s Liberation Army’s Laser Systems and the Future Challenges for Hellscape
January 14, 2025 — 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... MORE

Rethinking Denial: The People’s Liberation Army’s Laser Systems and the Future Challenges for Hellscape | Jake Rinaldi and Jake Vartanian

China’s Next Step in Modernizing the People’s Liberation Army: A New Reserve Service System
December 5, 2024 — 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 around the country, a prolonged war of attrition will require more than movement of forces from one side of the country to another... MORE

China’s Next Step in Modernizing the People’s Liberation Army: A New Reserve Service System | Joshua M. Arostegui

“China, the Illiberal Counter-Order, and the Role of Values in the Strategic Response”
November 7, 2024 — Dr. R. Evan Ellis discusses his recent article written for the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs titled, “China, the Illiberal Counter-Order, and the Role of Values in the Strategic Response.” This illuminating discussion covers what China is doing differently than the Soviets during the Cold War, and how new technology is playing a role in enabling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) objectives... MORE