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• PLA aims for blockade capability by 2035: MND report

  DEFENSE: China is expanding its nuclear and conventional strike forces, testing new carriers and aircraft, and is shifting toward a more proactive geostrategic posture

  • By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNA
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  The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) intends to achieve the capability to impose a joint blockade of Taiwan by 2035, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday in its latest report on China’s military.

  The ministry submitted the report to the Legislative Yuan alongside the proposed defense budget and the military’s five-year force structure plan.

  The PLA aims to achieve conventional and nuclear second-strike capabilities that would allow it to enforce a blockade of Taiwan and prevent outside intervention, the report said.

  

  Chinese People’s Liberaton Army military vehicles carrying DF-26 ballistic missiles travel past Tiananmen during a military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2015.

  Photo: Reuters

  At the same time, Beijing is expected to continue efforts to turn the Taiwan Strait into its de facto territorial waters — including frequent incursions across the median line, as well as intrusions into Taiwan’s 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone, it said.

  China’s armed forces are also stepping up efforts to have the capabilities to conduct patrols and drills east of Taiwan, while developing the means to project power as far as the second island chain, it added.

  Although “active defense” remains at the core of China’s national defense policy, the PLA is clearly shifting toward a more proactive geostrategic posture, as demonstrated by its activities near the second island chain and in the South Pacific, the report said.

  The PLA Ground Force is prioritizing the development of uncrewed platforms for urban combat support, as well as enhancing joint warfare capabilities and conducting large-scale amphibious exercises across multiple theater commands, it said.

  The PLA Navy (PLAN) is pursuing modernization aimed at establishing defense in depth to keep foreign forces out of the waters between the first and second island chains, it added.

  The PLA Air Force (PLAAF) seeks to transform into a strategic force able to conduct precision strikes, air mobility and logistical operations as far as the second island chain, the ministry report said.

  Meanwhile, the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF) is expanding its nuclear arsenal to achieve a credible second-strike capability, it said, referring to the ability to survive an initial nuclear attack and retaliate with atomic weapons.

  AIRCRAFT CARRIERS

  On China’s arms acquisitions, the MND said the aircraft carrier Fujian has completed its eighth sea trial, certifying its propulsion, electronic, electronic warfare and combat systems.

  The PLAN is also testing and inducting a range of carrier-based aircraft, including the Shenyang J-15T — a variant of the Shenyang J-35 — and a new airborne early warning and control platform, it said.

  These aircraft are expected to form the air wings of the Liaoning and Shandong carriers, providing the core capability for an expeditionary, operation-ready blue-water navy, it added.

  The PLAAF is hastening efforts to develop its sixth-generation fighters to achieve “all-dimensional response” capabilities, while the PLARF is expediting the deployment of new anti-ship ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons, it said.

  CYBERWARFAE

  Beijing sees cyberwarfare as an integral component of modern military operations and its modus operandi is to infiltrate adversary networks in peacetime and lie dormant until hostilities erupt — at which point pre-positioned cyberweapons could be activated to paralyze enemy systems, it added.

  In terms of firepower, the PLA’s operational focus is on massed strikes employing multiple types of munitions to overwhelm defenses, followed by successive attacks to ensure the destruction of enemy assets and forces, the MND said.

  Regarding Beijing’s broader foreign policy, its Belt and Road Initiative is being leveraged to deepen military and economic ties with regional states as a counterweight to the US-led Indo-Pacific strategy, further isolating Taiwan from the international community, the MND added.

  Beijing is expected to use the initiative to reinforce its narrative that Taiwan is an inseparable part of its sovereign territory — a narrative the regime defines as a core national interest, it said.

  REORGANIZATION

  The ministry also outlined Taiwan’s force structure plan for the next five years, emphasizing resilience through stronger logistics and battlefield medicine.

  A backup fiber-optic network is to be laid across Taiwan proper to ensure critical military communications can be maintained under attack and improve the survivability of command headquarters, the MND said.

  The army would prioritize enhancing command-and-control systems to enable commanders to form a clear operational picture, integrating drones into combat operations and strengthening rapid-deployment capabilities, it said.

  Planned acquisitions include M1A2T main battle tanks, F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets, F-16V upgrade packages, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and tactical data link systems, it added.

  The armed forces have also established or reorganized several units to adapt to the reinstated one-year compulsory military service, new operational concepts and emerging weapon systems, the ministry said.

  The air force’s 7th Tactical Fighter Wing has stood up the 45th Squadron; the 66th Marine Brigade converted tank and artillery battalions into a drone battalion and a fires battalion; the navy’s anti-submarine aviation group was reorganized into a brigade; and the Army Command Headquarters created a new air defense and uncrewed systems section, it said.
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