2011 report to congress - U.S.-China Economic and Security Review ...

dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with $$_JOB210acy, sea supremacy, and ground supremacy, and a key to seizingand maintaining the initiative on the battlefield, thus directly affectingthe process and outcome of the war.’’ 292Second, China’s military should seek to integrate all availablemeans into military space operations, according to Military Astronautics.This idea manifests in numerous ways. For example, withrespect to actors, China ‘‘should break the boundaries between themilitary and the civilian, and implement unified planning, unifiedcommanding, and unified coordinating of the military, civil, andcommercial space powers.’’ In addition, it means China shouldstrive to conduct simultaneous and mutually reinforcing offensiveand defensive actions.*These guiding ideas are supplemented by several ‘‘basic principles’’for space operations. Notably, these principles advocate thatChina take the initiative in offensive space operations; attack keypoints in vulnerable systems; and use stealthy, abrupt actions,among other things. According to analysis by Mr. Cheng, these conceptsand principles ‘‘suggest that, in the event of a Sino-Americanconfrontation, the PLA would seek to engage American space systemsearly in the crisis.’’ 293 Conceptually, these strategies alignwith China’s larger military imperatives for area control. (For moreinformation, see chap. 2, sec. 1: ‘‘China’s Area Control Strategy.’’)OrganizationThe PLA dominates China’s space activities. According to MarkStokes, executive director of the Project 2049 Institute, ‘‘[w]ithin abroad and fragmented [Chinese Communist Party] and governmentpolicy framework, the PLA plays a central role in coordinating, defining,and managing national space requirements.’’ 294 On an operationallevel, ‘‘[c]ritical space infrastructure, including existinglaunch facilities, and the day-to-day management of civil space operations,especially in the human spaceflight program, are the responsibilityof PLA organs,’’ according to Ms. Krolikowski. 295 SelectPLA administrative (‘‘headquarters-level’’) entities and service-levelentities play a role in China’s space programs.Headquarters-level entities: The PLA headquarters organizationconsists of four components: the General Staff Department, theGeneral Political Department, the General Logistics Department,and the General Armaments Department. Specifically, the GeneralStaff Department and the General Armaments Department havespace interests. According to Mr. Stokes, ‘‘[f]unctional offices withinthe [General Staff Department] shape operational requirements formilitarily relevant space-based sensors, aerospace surveillance systems,and communications satellites.’’ 296 In addition, ‘‘[t]he PLA’s[General Armaments Department] oversees the development andacquisition of technical solutions to satisfy [General Staff Department]operational requirements, and manages launch, tracking,and control of civilian and military satellites and other orbital systems.’’297 Ms. Krolikowski testified that ‘‘[w]ithin the PLA, the* Note that in Chinese usage, the terms ‘‘offensive’’ and ‘‘defensive’’ describe mission typesrather than specific means. For example, both types of missions might leverage reconnaissanceassets or antisatellite weapons. This differs from typical western usage, which considers mostcounterspace weapons to be offensive tools.VerDate Nov 24 2008 13:46 Nov 10, 2011 Jkt 067464 PO 00000 Frm 00222 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 G:\GSDD\USCC\2011\067464.XXX 067464