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Space Warfare Text THE CHINESE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY AND SPACE WARFARE by Larry M. Wortzel ★ EMERGING UNITED STATES–CHINA MILITARY COMPETITION A PROJECT OF THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE pace warfare will be an integrated part of battle advocated establishing a jointly manned “aerospace Splanning by the Chinese People’s Liberation command” for India to use the missile, satellite, and Army (PLA) in any future conflict. One of the major communications capabilities of the Indian armed proponents of integrated space power for the PLA, forces effectively.6 Major General Cai Fengzhen, believes that “control U.S. security planners must monitor China’s of portions of outer space is a natural extension of efforts carefully, however, because the United States other forms of territorial control,” such as sea or air is singled out in much of the literature as the most control.1 More seriously, because of American supe- likely adversary for the PLA. The PLA has also made riority in space, China’s military theorists treat the surprisingly rapid advances in this area. United States as the most likely opponent in that The most senior and widely published author in domain of war. The head of the U.S. Army Space the Chinese military on space warfare and aerospace and Missile Defense Command, Lieutenant General doctrine, Cai Fengzhen, borrows most of his termi- Kevin Campbell, thinks it is possible that “within nology and concepts from U.S. military doctrine. three years we can be challenged at a near-peer level” Indeed, Cai credits U.S. Lieutenant General Daniel O. by China.2 This means that China will be capable of Graham and his book High Frontier with developing “taking out a number of communications capabil- the original concept.7 Cai traces the concept of ities over a theater of war.”3 expanding one’s borders directly into space to Gra- ham and his “high frontier” theory.8 Cai opines that space control is a natural extension of other forms of The Genesis of China’s Space territorial control, such as sea control or the control of Warfare Doctrine a nation’s airspace. This is a concept that Cai explored in an earlier work on aerospace operations and the e should not be surprised that the Chinese PLA Air Force.9 Wmilitary is developing doctrine for warfare in Other Chinese security literature reflects the inter- space. Military theory evolves in response to pretation that the intent of American missile defense changes in technology. It is a normal activity for in space is to extend national airspace control. An strategists and war planners in any military to con- article on weapons in space by Huang Zhicheng of sider how advances in weapons and technology the Beijing Systems Engineering College says that affect warfare and to explore how to adapt to these “the United States is trying to build a ‘strategic exter- changes. The moves by the PLA are serious and nal border’ in space” with its ballistic missile defense bear watching, but American security policymakers plans.10 Huang quotes President John F. Kennedy as should avoid an alarmist reaction to what is hap- saying “whoever controls space [the universe] can pening in China’s military. control the earth” (shei neng kongzhi yuzhou, shei jiu The PLA’s development of space warfare doctrine neng kongzhi diqiu), reflecting China’s deep uneasiness is not some self-made phenomenon. Rather, the PLA about U.S. intentions.11 This is a popular quote in has carefully absorbed and is reacting to what the the PLA. It is probably taught in its military schools. U.S. military has published on space warfare and In a China Military Science article, Major General Liu counter-space operations.4 The PLA has also studied Jixian of the PLA Academy of Military Science para- Soviet-era and contemporary Russian thinking on phrases Kennedy this way: “Whoever controls the space operations, using these studies to guide its universe controls our world; whoever controls space own evolving doctrine.5 controls initiative in war.”12 China’s neighbors are also developing the sort of Ultimately, these Chinese authors fail to space warfare capabilities that the United States and acknowledge American intent in developing space the Soviet Union considered decades ago. Former doctrine. Nowhere in Cai’s work, or in other Chi- Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal S. P. Tyagi recently nese examinations of the High Frontier concept, do 1 THE CHINESE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY AND SPACE WARFARE the authors capture Graham’s statement of intent, Future war must combine information, firepower, which was to break away from the strategic nuclear and mobility.”20 They believe that future latent mili- calculus of mutually assured destruction (MAD) in tary threats will primarily come in aerospace. which the United States and the Soviet Union were Like these authors, other military theorists are once locked.13 Graham advocated replacing “the convinced that “the atmosphere and space will dangerous doctrine of MAD with a strategy of become the primary battlefields [in high technology assured survival” for the United States and its war], and the dividing line between them will be allies.14 Cai focuses instead on Graham’s concepts blurred.”21 Some are convinced that in future wars, of high-performance space planes and directed space will be used to “carry out war between space energy weapons. platforms and to attack strategic surface and air tar- The PLA has reacted to what its officers observed gets.”22 In order to conduct warfare in space, attack in military operations in the Balkans, the first Gulf targets in space, or conduct surface or air attacks War, Afghanistan, and Iraq, where joint operations from space, theorists in the PLA and other Chinese and command were so effective because of U.S. research institutes advocate research into forms of space assets.15 It also has studied U.S. military lit- laser weapons, particle beam weapons, and other erature about space operations. The PLA, like the forms of directed energy and electromagnetic sys- U.S. Air Force, fully expects any future conflict to tems.23 And not all of this research is limited to include forms of war in space integrated with other military theory. There are also PLA organizations military operations. One should note that it does not conducting basic and applied research into space-to- take espionage to survey the PLA’s collection of ground kinetic weapons systems.24 American doctrine.16 Moreover, the PLA’s terminol- Senior Colonel Zhang Zhiwei and Lieutenant ogy often flows from what its officers read in U.S. Colonel Feng Zhuanjiang, both of the Nanjing Army doctrine. What is impressive—and bears close Command Academy, argue that “space supremacy” watching—is how rapidly the PLA has developed must be an integral part of other forms of supremacy advanced capabilities to engage in warfare in space. over the battlefield.25 They see this as a necessary and logical extension of other forms of military conflict. The bottom line is that the PLA sees war in Space Warfare and Other Forms space as an integrated part of military operations of Military Operations and that offensive and defensive operations are blending.26 pace operations and warfare in space are compo- Snents of what the PLA calls “informationalized,” or information age, warfare.17 In general, PLA strategists Legal Considerations in China are convinced that space will be one of the natural domains of war and that war in space will be an inte- ustifying China’s actions in international law and gral part of other military operations.18 Moreover, Jestablishing positions in domestic law are PLA authors are convinced that “future enemy mili- increasingly important for the PLA as its strategists tary forces will depend heavily on information sys- and planners think about space warfare. Some offi- tems in military operations.” Therefore, they believe, cers in the PLA’s General Political Department are China needs to break through the technological bar- setting out positions that China could use to justify riers and develop information system counter- attacks on “space bodies” such as satellites and other measures in space.19 Two authors writing in China installations, while other scholars and military Military Science, the PLA’s premier military theory thinkers deal with the nuances, and limits, of national journal, believe that “it is in space that information sovereignty. This section explores some of these age warfare will come to its more intensive points. debates. The Communist Party’s senior leadership 2 THE CHINESE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY AND SPACE WARFARE sees achieving a leading position in space as key to authoritative PLA doctrine texts, the legal prepara- becoming a military and economic power with tion for a military campaign is part of the “psycho- global impact. China’s 2006 White Paper on Space logical operations” that complement the use of Activities sets out China’s space power priorities. In military force.31 The major PLA text explaining how PLA doctrinal books, however, senior PLA officers this legal warfare process would work was validated make it clear that they see the ability to control at a critique session attended by senior legal repre- space during any conflict as “controlling the ‘high sentatives of the Central Military Commission, all ground’ of future warfare.”27 the general departments of the PLA, and the Acad- emy of Military Science.32 Preparation for War and “Legal Warfare.” While In fact, since the establishment of the People’s students of warfare are thinking through Beijing’s Republic of China (PRC), the Communist Party military doctrine in space, other Chinese strategists leadership has been careful to establish a casus belli and legal scholars are engaged in an internal debate before taking military action.
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