Developments in China's Military Force Projection and Expeditionary Capabilities

For the past several years the Chinese People's Liberation Army has carried out a series of military exercises designed to improve capabilities, employ advanced intelligence and reconnaissance systems, and refine command and control. At the same time, acting under guidance from the Communist Party's Central Military Commission and its Chairman, Chinese President Xi Jinping, the PLA is developing capabilities to project power and to modernize command and control. The Central Military Commission membership has changed, the way intelligence and logistics for the PLA has been revised, and the military regions have been reorganized. As China looks to resolve what Beijing believes to be sovereignty challenges, safeguard overseas interests, and protect its citizens abroad, the PLA may occupy the same operational space as U.S. forces and the forces of U.S. allies and partners. Given the potential for miscalculation involving China's increasingly aggressive military posture, it is important that members of Congress and the public have a better understanding of China's real ability to project force farther from its own shores.