China’s Military Looks Beyond Taiwan with Network-Centric Developments

• The Pentagon released its annual report to congress on China’s military developments [PDF]. Some highlights:

“Dealing with a potential contingency in the Taiwan Strait remains the PLA’s primary mission despite an overall reduction of cross-Strait tensions […] However, the PLA also is placing emphasis on preparing for contingencies other than Taiwan, including potential contingencies in the South and East China Seas. […]

Almost all of the PLA’s 2013 exercises focused on operating in “informationized” conditions by emphasizing system-of-systems operations, a concept that can be viewed as the Chinese corollary to U.S. network-centric warfare. […]

Many of the organizations in China’s military-industrial complex have both military and civilian R&D functions. This network of government affiliated companies and research institutes often provides the PLA access to sensitive and dual-use technologies or knowledgeable experts under the guise of civilian R&D. […]

As China’s interests, capabilities, and international influence have grown, its military modernization program has also become increasingly focused on military investments for a range of missions beyond China’s coast, including sea lane security, counterpiracy, peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR).”