China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has developed and tested a "virtual battlefield system," a development which has attracted much attention from local military analysts. The military is confident that this system will have little impact on its actual military capability.
In its most recent edition, the Chinese-language Defense Technology Monthly (DTM) magazine says the PLA tested the system in a drill on Nov. 18, saying that the PLA simultaneously maneuvered troops positioned hundreds of kilometers from each other using a wireless C3I (command, control, communications and intelligence) network.
Linking all the units and weapon systems involved through Intranet and Internet, the system can greatly reduce the time between the issue of commands and their implementation in the field, according to the report.
Pi Yun-hao (
"The system is still at an experimental stage although it has passed tests under drill conditions. Taiwan has a similar system, but its effectiveness has still not been proven," Pi said.
An official with the army who declined to be identified, said Taiwan's development in the field is far inferior to China, but said that military leaders dare not admit the fact.
The military's command and control system, though being continuously upgraded, is effective only between higher-level command units, and is inaccessible to troops in the field, the official said.
Chang Li-teh (
"China's virtual battlefield system can cover areas thousands of kilometers across using its telecommunication satellite network," Chang said.
A high-ranking official with the Ministry of National Defense (MND), who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed doubts about the effectiveness of China's virtual battlefield system.
"Its effectiveness seems to have been exaggerated. The PLA might be superior to us in this area, but if so, it is not by a lot," the official said.
"We can assess the capabilities of the two sides in this area from two perspectives: computer development and telecommunication infrastructure," he said.
"The two sides are at parity in the development of computer applications in this field. In telecommunications infrastructure, we have to consider three categories of communications: satellite, fiber-optics and radio," he said.
China's current telecommunication satellites, the official said, are not capable of executing command and control over troops moving in large theaters.
In optic fiber-based communication, he said, China has yet to build a nationwide network to support the strategic operation of the virtual battlefield system even though it has completed parts of the network.
As to radio communication, the PLA can operate effectively only in inland areas, with frequencies along the eastern seaboard from Beijing, Shanghai and to Nanjing being almost fully in use, he said.
"China's virtual battlefield system is probably nothing more than an upgraded war-gaming system. Their war-gaming system is being developed in the same direction as we are currently going," he said.
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