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By Phillip C. Saunders and Joel Wuthnow
China’s Goldwater-Nichols? Assessing PLA Organizational Reforms
News
| April 5, 2016
China's Goldwater-Nichols? Assessing PLA Organizational Reforms
By Phillip C. Saunders and Joel Wuthnow
Strategic Forum 294
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Key Points
The Chinese People’s Liberation
Army (PLA) is undertaking its most
significant restructuring since
1949, including changes to all of
the PLA’s main organizational pillars—
the Central Military Commission,
services, and theaters.
The reforms are modeled partly
on the U.S. military structure,
where combatant commanders
lead operations and the services
train and equip troops. However,
the PLA remains a Leninist military
responsible for defending Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) rule.
The reforms aim to tighten CCP
supervision over a force seen as
corrupt and unaccountable and
to enhance the PLA’s ability to
conduct joint operations across
multiple domains.
Theater commanders will be able
to develop force packages drawn
from all the services, and a new
Strategic Support Force will provide
C4ISR support.
The reforms will create a shortterm
organizational disruption,
but may enable more effective
joint warfighting over the long
term. The PLA will have to overcome
significant obstacles such as
continued ground force dominance
and inter-service rivalry to make
the reforms succeed.
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