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OPINION DECEMBER 09, 2022 | The Indian Eye 10

How China’s People Liberation Army

and its idea of Intelligentised Warfare is

changing the combat scene

The ongoing technological denial by the West and the lack of expertise in technological advancement across

Chinese research industries, especially in semiconductors, though, are being flagged as some of the reasons that
could cause impediments to the PLA’s modernization plan

OM RANJAN

hina is deploying advanced
technologies, including ar-
Ctificial intelligence (AI) and
machine learning, automation and
robots, quantum computing, big data,
5G networking, and the Internet of
Things (IoT), for military purpos-
es. In its 14th Five Year Plan (FYP)
(2021–25), China outlined the main
aims and objectives of modernizing
the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),
including that of ‘elevating the level
to being an intelligent force’.

China seeks to focus on accel-

erating military modernization
to make the PLA an automat-
ed and computerized force by
2027, the 100th anniversary of

its founding in 1927. By 2035,
PLA aims to become a modern-
ized force in all spheres.

Nevertheless, analysts note that
a significant force reduction from
current levels, budget boost and fast-
er adoption of Fourth Industrial Rev-
olution (4IR) technologies will be
necessary to hasten the development Chinese military modernization is expected to become more and more associated with civil technological innovation. The majority of 4IR break-
of an intelligent and informationised throughs—particularly in the areas of AI, machine learning, big data, etc., —are occurring in the commercial sector
force.
improve military efficacy by focusing Computing, are the core ideas of the warfare’ was ‘on the horizon’.
Shift from Mechanized on information technologies—partic- Chinese military’s thinking towards China believes that the emerg-

to Intelligentised and ularly those connected to command, transitioning to a 21st century force. ing economic and military-technical
revolutions will be dominated by AI,
In essence, intelligent warfare
control, communications, computers,
Informationised Domain intelligence, surveillance, and recon- implies the use of 4IR technologies big data, human–machine hybrid in-
naissance (C4ISR), to become an “in- for military use and the exploitation telligence, swarm intelligence, auto-
he PLA has been modernizing formatized” force. of such technologies to produce ‘in- mated decision-making, autonomous
for more than 20 years and has The move from mechanized to telligent weapons’, like AI-enabled unmanned systems, and intelligent
Tlong been described as being informationised force under the cov- weapons system. China’s 2019 de- robots. The PLA is adopting 4IR
“half-mechanized, half-information- er of intelligent network capabilities, fense white paper had noted that ‘in- technologies in order to be better
ized force”. The PLA is seeking to such as IoT, 5G, Big Data and Cloud formationised conflict and intelligent Continued at next page... >>

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