PLA Turns 94 And More Threatening Than Ever

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PLA Turns 94 And More Threatening Than Ever

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• 94 years of PLA: The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) turned 94 on August 1, 2021, having been established in 1927. Its nature now is that it's no longer land-centric, but remains the world's largest force.
• Goals of Xi Jinping: As the supreme commander, he set the goals of "full mechanisation by 2020, informatisation by 2035, and world-class force by 2049".

1. First goal is not accomplished yet. 
2. Being "world-class" is not defined, but it's clear China wants to be on a par with Western forces.

• Impact on others: China's main goal in defence is to take back Taiwan, and ensure it stands up to US in the process. But that preparation is costing other nations in its vicinity heavily, like India.
• Four big changes in PLA: 

1. Border infrastructure - The Sino-Indian border is under the Western Theater Command, Tibet Miliatry District and Xinjiang Military District. Dual use infra has come up in these regions fast. It regularly trains via exercises, for "jointness and efficiency". The border standoff has proved China's ability to forcefully change the status quo.
2. Change in naval stance - The Chinese now want "near seas defence" and "far seas protection". They wish to protect their interests in Indian Ocean (IOR) and Western Pacific Ocean too. From 1999 when PLA Navy has zero port visits in IOR, it's doing 20 plus annually now. India's edge is maintained though, as Chinese supply lines get stretched heavily in the IOR. Hence, they are investing in larger vessels, newer supply ships, and heavy-lift aircraft and tankers.
3. Psychological and cyber warfare - The PLA Strategic Support Force is building links between the space, cyber and electromagnetic domains. This is "information warfare", made up of cyberattack and defence, electronic countermeasures etc. Various units of the PLA constantly keep attacking Indian targets, e.g. the RedFoxtrot group, Unit 69010 in Xinjiang, and RedEcho group (Mumbai power outage 2020). 
4. Rocket force - The PLA Rocket Force (2015) is building space and counter-space abilities rapidly. With dual-capable missiles that can carry nuclear or conventional warheads, its deployment in Xinjiang in 2020 was a dangerous signal. Inadvertently, a huge mistake may be made! India has only modest ballistic missile defences, and a "no first use" policy. China is ambiguuos about it.

• Summary: China is investing in drone swarms, big data, disruptive tech, and constantly engaging with the Pakistani military. Not everything is India-centred, but carries implications for India nonetheless.

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