The PLA at Home and Abroad - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

Over the longer-term, the development of an integrative
and comprehensive C4ISR system will enable
the PLA to project power globally. As China’s
relations with Africa deepen and as its energy needs
increase, a robust C4ISR system will permit China to
defend its global interests by supporting forces well
beyond its borders. China’s C4ISR developments will
then be one indicator of China’s rise as a global power.
ENDNOTES - CHAPTER 5
1. This is the first paper that discusses PLA organizational and
training reform and technological advances within the context of
joint operations and the first paper that takes joint capabilities as
an overall indicator of the PLA’s level of informationization. For
discussions of the PLA’s conceptualization of joint operations,
see Dean Cheng, “The PLA and Joint Operations: Moving From
Theory to Practice” in Michael D. Swaine, Andrew N. D. Yang,
and Evan S. Medeiros, eds., with Oriana Skylar Mastro, Assessing
the Threat: The Chinese Military and Taiwan’s Security, Washington,
DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2007,
pp. 55-83; and Dean Cheng, “Zhanyixue and Joint Campaigns,” in
James Mulvenon and David Finkelstein, eds., China’s Revolution in
Doctrinal Affairs: Emerging Trends in the Operational Art of the Chinese
People’s Liberation Army, Alexandria, VA: CNA Corporation,
December 2005, pp. 101-118.
2. Gangyao has been defined as “outline” or “regulations.”
This chapter will leave the term gangyao undefined since the exact
contents of gangyao are unknown.
3. Zhang Qinsheng and Li Bingyan, “Complete New Historical
Transformation – Understanding Gained From Studying CMC
Strategic Thinking on ‘Two Basic Transformations,’” 解放军报
(PLA Daily), January 14, 1997.
4. The Implementation of Network-Centric Warfare, January 5,
2005, Washington, DC: Office of Force Transformation, February
14, 2005, pp. 3-4.
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