James Char is Research Fellow with the China Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

“The year 2027 – the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PLA – promises (or threatens) to be a major inflection point for China’s military. As the PLA grapples with modern “intelligentized warfare,” this concept pervades the transformation of the entire Chinese armed forces. The wide array of experts assembled in this volume provide a sober assessment of the future development of all branches of the PLA.”Richard A. Bitzinger (1956–2023), Adjunct Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore“The expertise of the various authors takes the reader on a journey through the PLA that not only covers platforms and systems, but also organization, doctrine, and, in some cases, personnel affairs. Moreover, chapters on Taiwan and the South China Sea illustrate how Beijing is currently employing its new and improved PLA in current real-world operations. An excellent contribution to the field of PLA studies.”David M. Finkelstein, Vice President for China & Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Center for Naval Analyses“The PLA remains a closed book to many outside China. The way the PLA specialists in this edited volume have deciphered its comprehensive and complicated reforms launched by Xi Jinping in 2015 is most impressive. This remarkable book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding China’s military transformation and ongoing preparations for an increasingly more intensified global military confrontation.”You Ji, Professor, Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University

• 1. Introduction: Modernizing the People’s Liberation Army: Aspiring to be a Global Military Power 2. The PLA Army after “Below the Neck” Reforms: Contributing to China’s Joint Warfighting, Deterrence and MOOTW Posture 3. Counter-intervention in an Age of Naval Reform 4. Ongoing Organizational Reforms of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force 5. Organization and Structural Reforms of the PLA Rocket Force 6. The PLA Strategic Support Force: Innovating for Future Warfare 7. Joint Logistics Support Force and China’s Military Logistics in an Era of Reform: Organizations, Operations, and Challenges 8. PLA Flight Activities in Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone 9. Beijing’s “Swiss Army Knife’ in the South China Sea

James Char is Research Fellow with the China Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

“The year 2027 – the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PLA – promises (or threatens) to be a major inflection point for China’s military. As the PLA grapples with modern “intelligentized warfare,” this concept pervades the transformation of the entire Chinese armed forces. The wide array of experts assembled in this volume provide a sober assessment of the future development of all branches of the PLA.”Richard A. Bitzinger (1956–2023), Adjunct Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore“The expertise of the various authors takes the reader on a journey through the PLA that not only covers platforms and systems, but also organization, doctrine, and, in some cases, personnel affairs. Moreover, chapters on Taiwan and the South China Sea illustrate how Beijing is currently employing its new and improved PLA in current real-world operations. An excellent contribution to the field of PLA studies.”David M. Finkelstein, Vice President for China & Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Center for Naval Analyses“The PLA remains a closed book to many outside China. The way the PLA specialists in this edited volume have deciphered its comprehensive and complicated reforms launched by Xi Jinping in 2015 is most impressive. This remarkable book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding China’s military transformation and ongoing preparations for an increasingly more intensified global military confrontation.”You Ji, Professor, Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University

• 1. Introduction: Modernizing the People’s Liberation Army: Aspiring to be a Global Military Power 2. The PLA Army after “Below the Neck” Reforms: Contributing to China’s Joint Warfighting, Deterrence and MOOTW Posture 3. Counter-intervention in an Age of Naval Reform 4. Ongoing Organizational Reforms of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force 5. Organization and Structural Reforms of the PLA Rocket Force 6. The PLA Strategic Support Force: Innovating for Future Warfare 7. Joint Logistics Support Force and China’s Military Logistics in an Era of Reform: Organizations, Operations, and Challenges 8. PLA Flight Activities in Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone 9. Beijing’s “Swiss Army Knife’ in the South China Sea

James Char is Research Fellow with the China Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

“The year 2027 – the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PLA – promises (or threatens) to be a major inflection point for China’s military. As the PLA grapples with modern “intelligentized warfare,” this concept pervades the transformation of the entire Chinese armed forces. The wide array of experts assembled in this volume provide a sober assessment of the future development of all branches of the PLA.”Richard A. Bitzinger (1956–2023), Adjunct Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore“The expertise of the various authors takes the reader on a journey through the PLA that not only covers platforms and systems, but also organization, doctrine, and, in some cases, personnel affairs. Moreover, chapters on Taiwan and the South China Sea illustrate how Beijing is currently employing its new and improved PLA in current real-world operations. An excellent contribution to the field of PLA studies.”David M. Finkelstein, Vice President for China & Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Center for Naval Analyses“The PLA remains a closed book to many outside China. The way the PLA specialists in this edited volume have deciphered its comprehensive and complicated reforms launched by Xi Jinping in 2015 is most impressive. This remarkable book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding China’s military transformation and ongoing preparations for an increasingly more intensified global military confrontation.”You Ji, Professor, Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University

• 1. Introduction: Modernizing the People’s Liberation Army: Aspiring to be a Global Military Power 2. The PLA Army after “Below the Neck” Reforms: Contributing to China’s Joint Warfighting, Deterrence and MOOTW Posture 3. Counter-intervention in an Age of Naval Reform 4. Ongoing Organizational Reforms of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force 5. Organization and Structural Reforms of the PLA Rocket Force 6. The PLA Strategic Support Force: Innovating for Future Warfare 7. Joint Logistics Support Force and China’s Military Logistics in an Era of Reform: Organizations, Operations, and Challenges 8. PLA Flight Activities in Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone 9. Beijing’s “Swiss Army Knife’ in the South China Sea