THE CHINESE ARMY TODAY The Chinese Army Today is a unique and comprehensive study of all elements of Chinese military modernization, focusing on the ground forces to a degree not found in other contemporary work. In 1999, the military modernization program of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army that had been underway for 20 years increased in intensity and achieved a focus not seen in the previous two decades. Based primarily on Chinese sources, this book details the changes and key developments implemented since 1999 and puts them in the context of the many traditions that still remain. Dennis Blasko uses first-hand observation of the Chinese military and three decades of military experience to weave many disparate threads from official Chinese statements, documents, and media reports into an integrated whole. This volume defines what forces make up the People’s Liberation Army and examines in detail ground force organization and structure, personnel policies, doctrine and training, new equipment entering the force, and missions routinely undertaken in support of society. This book will be essential reading for students of the Chinese military, Chinese politics, Asian regional security, and strategic studies in general. Dennis J. Blasko served 23 years in the US Army as a military intelligence officer and foreign area officer specializing in China. He was an army attaché in Beijing and Hong Kong from 1992 to 1996, and previously served in infantry units in Germany, Italy, and Korea. ASIAN SECURITY STUDIES Series Editors: Sumit Ganguly, Indiana University, Bloomington and Andrew Scobell, US Army War College Few regions of the world are fraught with as many security questions as Asia. Within this region it is possible to study great power rivalries, irredentist conflicts, nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation, secessionist movements, ethnoreligious conflicts and inter-state wars. This new book series will publish the best possible scholarship on the security issues affecting the region, and will include detailed empirical studies, theoretically oriented case studies and policy-relevant analyses as well as more general works. CHINA AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS Alternate Paths to Global Power Marc Lanteigne CHINA’S RISING SEA POWER The PLA Navy’s Submarine Challenge Peter Howarth IF CHINA ATTACKS TAIWAN Military Strategy, Politics and Economics Edited by Steve Tsang CHINESE CIVIL–MILITARY RELATIONS The Transformation of the People’s Liberation Army Edited by Nan Li THE CHINESE ARMY TODAY Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century Dennis J. Blasko TAIWAN’S SECURITY History and Prospects Bernard D. Cole THE CHINESE ARMY TODAY Tradition and transformation for the 21st century Dennis J. Blasko First published 2006 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2006 Dennis J. Blasko This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN10 0–415–77002–5 ISBN13 9–780–415–77002–6 (hbk) ISBN10 0–415–77003–3 ISBN13 9–780–415–77003–3 (pbk) For my father, Max J. Blasko CONTENTS List of illustrations viii List of tables ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii List of abbreviations xv 1 Introduction 1 2 What is the PLA? 16 3 Who is the PLA? 47 4 Where is the PLA? 66 5 How will the PLA fight? 91 6 What equipment does the PLA use? 121 7 How does the PLA train? 144 8 What is the role of the PLA in Chinese society? 171 9 Conclusions and the ghosts of Tiananmen 182 Notes 195 Select bibliography 221 Index 224 vii ILLUSTRATIONS Plates (between pages 124 and 125) 1 Ministry of Public Security police 2 People’s Armed Police squad in Tiananmen Square 3 People’s Armed Police in winter uniforms 4 People’s Armed Police squad exercising in the Forbidden City 5 PLA NCO Grade 3 in field camouflage uniform 6 PLA lieutenant general visiting Pearl Harbor 7 Brigadier General G.O. Sealock with PLA officers 8 Civilian MPS anti-riot police 9 PLA female civilian and senior colonel in spring/autumn uniform 10 PLA first lieutenant, 6th Artillery Brigade, in winter uniform 11 Type 89 SP anti-tank gun training simulator 12 Type 96 main battle tank, Beijing military parade, October 1999 13 Company-size inland amphibious training area 14 Mortar platoon in drill at amphibious training area 15 PLA cadets at grenade throwing 16 PLA ground force Honor Guard in ceremonial uniform Figures 2.1 National-level organizations 26 2.2 Military Regions 33 2.3 Military Region structure 34 2.4 Brigade/regimental headquarters structure 40 2.5 Group Army structure 43 3.1 Collar insignia 48 3.2 PLA cap insignia 48 3.3 PLA civilian collar insignia and epaulet 64 viii TABLES 2.1 China’s security apparatus 19 2.2 Estimated personnel numbers 42 3.1 NCO categories and ranks 53 3.2 PLA officer duty position grades and military ranks 57 3.3 Basic-level PLA ground force academies or institutes and locations 60 4.1 Shenyang Military Region forces 76 4.2 Beijing Military Region forces 78 4.3 Lanzhou Military Region forces 80 4.4 Jinan Military Region forces 81 4.5 Nanjing Military Region forces 82 4.6 Guangzhou Military Region forces 84 4.7 Chengdu Military Region forces 86 4.8 Four-digit PAP zongdui 88 6.1 Types and estimated numbers of helicopters 138 8.1 Chinese participation in UN peacekeeping missions 179 ix