Learning by Doing: the Pla Trains at Home and Abroad

Publisher Marketing: To better understand the PLA's ability to employ its developing capabilities in a variety of potential scenarios, this year's workshop examined how the PLA learns by doing, specifically through its exercises and noncombat operations at home and overseas, and through key logistical and theoretical developments. Key findings are: 1) recent PLAN exercises and operations point to an increasing interest in developing expeditionary naval capabilities and a presence in distant seas, suggesting that a move beyond the current "near seas" focus is both possible and an extension of existing efforts; 2) PLA ground force exercises-rather than aiming to intimidate others by demonstrating the ability to project power beyond China's borders-focus on moving military power within China, both to defend China's borders and perhaps as a prelude to military restructuring in which smaller but more mobile formations could replace larger and more static ones; 3) through its participation in international military exercises as well as peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions, the PLA is gaining greater capabilities to deploy outside of China's borders for a a variety of missions; and, 4) PLA operations are increasingly supported by a modern, civilian-integrated military logistics network, though a lack of overseas bases continues to limit the effectiveness of this network as it pertains to overseas power projection capabilities. Contributor Bio:  Institute, Strategic Studies SHEILA R. RONIS is Director of the MBA and Master of Management Programs at Walsh College. She is also President of The University Group, Inc., a management consulting firm and think tank specializing in strategic management, visioning, national security, and public policy. She teaches the "Strategic Management Capstone" course of the MBA, "Issues of Globalization" and "Strategic Management and Leadership" in the Doctorate of Management program at Walsh College. Dr. Ronis chairs the Vision Working Group of the Project on National Security Reform in Washington, DC, where she is responsible for the plan and processes to develop The Center for Strategic Analysis and Assessment, the venue where the President of the United States will conduct "grand strategy" on behalf of the nation. Dr. Ronis participates in many programs at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) at the National Defense University in Washington, DC including their National Security Strategy Exercise. In June 2005, she chaired at ICAF the Army's Eisenhower National Security Series Conference, "The State of the U. S. Industrial Base: National Security Implications in a World of Globalization." The Proceedings of that conference, which Dr. Ronis co-edited with Dr. Lynne Thompson, were published by the National Defense University Press in April, 2006. In March 2006, Dr. Ronis completed a study of the national security implications of the erosion of the U. S. industrial base for the U. S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business. Her book, Timelines into the Future: Strategic Visioning Methods for Government, Industry and Other Organizations, was published by Hamilton Books in June 2007. She has authored nearly 200 articles 252 and papers. Dr. Ronis holds a B. S. in physics and mathematics and an M. A. and Ph. D. from The Ohio State University where she studied large social system behavior. Contributor Bio:  Kamphausen, Roy ANDREW SCOBELL is Senior Political Scientist at RAND's Washington, DC, office. Prior to this he was an Associate Professor of International Affairs at the George H. W. Bush School of Government and Public Service and Director of the China Certificate Program at Texas A&M University located in College Station, TX. From 1999 until 2007, he was an Associate Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, U. S. Army War College and an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Dickinson College, both located in Carlisle, PA. Dr. Scobell is the author of China's Use of Military Force: Beyond the Great Wall and the Long March (Cambridge University Press, 2003), he co-authored China's Search for Security, with Andrew J. Nathan, (Columbia University Press, forthcoming, 2012), he has written more than a dozen monographs and reports, as well as several dozen journal articles and book chapters. He has also edited or co-edited 12 volumes on various aspects of security in the Asia-Pacific region. He is a co-editor with Mr. Kamphausen and Dr. Lai of The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China's Military (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U. S. Army War College, June 2010). Dr. Scobell holds a Ph. D. in political science from Columbia University. DAVID LAI is a Research Professor of Asian Security Studies at the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) of the U. S. Army War College. Before joining the SSI, Dr. Lai was on the faculty of the U. S. Air War College. Having grown up in China, Lai witnessed China's "Cultural Revolution," its economic reform, and the changes in U. S.-China relations. His teaching and research interests are in international relations theory, war and peace studies, comparative foreign and security policy, U. S.-China and U. S.-Asian relations, and Chinese strategic thinking and operational art. Dr. Lai is a co-editor with Mr. Kamphausen and Dr. Scobell of The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China's Military (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U. S. Army War College, June 2010). Dr. Lai holds a bachelor's degree from China and a master's degree and Ph. D. in political science from the University of Colorado. Contributor Bio:  Lai, David ANDREW SCOBELL is Senior Political Scientist at RAND's Washington, DC, office. Prior to this he was an Associate Professor of International Affairs at the George H. W. Bush School of Government and Public Service and Director of the China Certificate Program at Texas A&M University located in College Station, TX. From 1999 until 2007, he was an Associate Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, U. S. Army War College and an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Dickinson College, both located in Carlisle, PA. Dr. Scobell is the author of China's Use of Military Force: Beyond the Great Wall and the Long March (Cambridge University Press, 2003), he co-authored China's Search for Security, with Andrew J. Nathan, (Columbia University Press, forthcoming, 2012), he has written more than a dozen monographs and reports, as well as several dozen journal articles and book chapters. He has also edited or co-edited 12 volumes on various aspects of security in the Asia-Pacific region. He is a co-editor with Mr. Kamphausen and Dr. Lai of The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China's Military (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U. S. Army War College, June 2010). Dr. Scobell holds a Ph. D. in political science from Columbia University. DAVID LAI is a Research Professor of Asian Security Studies at the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) of the U. S. Army War College. Before joining the SSI, Dr. Lai was on the faculty of the U. S. Air War College. Having grown up in China, Lai witnessed China's "Cultural Revolution," its economic reform, and the changes in U. S.-China relations. His teaching and research interests are in international relations theory, war and peace studies, comparative foreign and security policy, U. S.-China and U. S.-Asian relations, and Chinese strategic thinking and operational art. Dr. Lai is a co-editor with Mr. Kamphausen and Dr. Scobell of The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China's Military (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U. S. Army War College, June 2010). Dr. Lai holds a bachelor's degree from China and a master's degree and Ph. D. in political science from the University of Colorado.