The Dragons still fly [Intro]
The Chinese PLA has come a long way from a ragtag bunch of peasant militia fighting for their lives against the Kuomintang for establishment of the sovereignty of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over mainland China. From literal pitchforks and rudimentary guns supplied by the Soviets, to wielding a formidable army backed by a massive arsenal of nuclear warheads, Communist China really has matured in both warfighting ability as well as tactical acumen. While actual warfighting prowess is dubious, China has put itself into a continuous warlike scenario for the past 70+ years. This is a clever strategy and a part of the Chinese long game and must be considered from the revivalist lens.
Chinese worldview has been shaped by its agronomic past and its spectacular failures. Mao's great famine was a wake-up-call, at least one of the many since the Civil War of 1927, that Chinese destiny has been dominated by two forces for far too long: Nature & the West. While Nature has shaped its landscape, influencing its economy & policy, the West has viewed China as a testbed for its many initiatives geared at its own hegemonic rise. Initially considered a grand chessboard for Imperial Britain and Russian Monarchy during the long centuries of the Great Game in the East, China has desperately tried to shed its Opium-laden coat of dependence, even at the cost of its sovereignty. From its nascent flirtatious phase with communism, to a full-fledged war between communist factions leading to the now century-long war for occupation of Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party has shaped itself into a revivalist force. Portraying itself as the modern executors of the long-held Chinese dream of "大同 - Datong", or Great Unity, drawing on the rich past of Qin, Tang and Han expansionism, the CCP has forged a Chinese National Identity which is practically inseparable from its heavily integrated economy. Having transitioned from a largely agrarian economy during the late 70s and post-Deng Xiaoping's era of Economic reforms, the Chinese economy largely disentangled itself from its climate-related stresses and geographical pain-points. Vigorous shipbuilding initiatives focused on long-haul carriers, deepwater ports and extensive EEZs like Shenzhen and Chongqing have their roots in this period. The CCP has successfully integrated the Communist ideals through its elaborate system of "和諧 - Hexie", or the social harmony ecosystem, effectively controlling all internal & external communication, regulating media and clamping down on all forms of dissent without explicitly resorting to dictatorial rule. This is perhaps the greatest victory of the CCP - a thriving economy that's controlled by the state, and a social system that feeds off of this control. This extremely streamlined, hybrid rule is uncanny in its ability to deliver results, and demands a nod to the extraordinary Kautilya-esque theory of ruthless domination. Surely, the Buddhist learnings from "Tianzhu (天竺)", the enlightened land of the Buddha down South were deeply integrated into the Han society and reverberated down the millennium. Today, the CCP has turned almost the entire canon of Chinese strategic thought into actionable agenda for the party and its actions on Mainland China and beyond. Having found immense success in their agrarian distress through heavy industrialization, the CCP's obvious step forward was the military.
Now since its inception as a peasant force during the Civil War, the Chinese PLA has been heavily supported by the Soviets. During the Japanese campaign, the Chinese were supported by Soviets under the Sino-Soviet Non-aggression pact (which runs solid to this day) with Weapons, Training, Monetary aid and infrastructure. Much of this would lay the groundwork for the raising of the PLA and its wings. The United States shed its ambivalence in the wake of Japanese aggression and provided direct assistance to China in its "defense" against Japan, even flying for the Chinese during the Second Sino-Japanese war, albeit in unofficial capacity. Germany and UK provided extensive support as well, and various covert operations were run in what would resemble a tangled web of subterfuge, espionage and outright black ops across the length and breadth of the vast Checkerboard.
Today, the PLA is a formidable force with its reach well beyond the mainland, projecting power through its "string of pearls", a brilliant fusion of economic heft and military muscle. In more ways than one, the CCP has positioned itself ahead of the military-industrial complex through a fusion of luck and tactics. Having recognized the power of critical minerals, the CCP has expanded its reach through coercive diplomacy and outright economic takeover of various key ports, mines and resource-rich lands in Africa, Middle-East and South America. It has been on a land-buying spree even in USA, some of which are known to be in proximity to USA's strategic zones. In the aftermath of Ukraine's brilliant Operation Spiderweb, this is incredibly alarming for USA's NatSec grid, more so when one realizes the PLA's capabilities in the UAV and EW sectors. It is indeed amazing, how in a mere span of a little over half a century, a nation grappling with severe food crisis could manage to propel itself into a classic Thucydides' trap with USA.
I intend to study this more and will keep writing on this based on public information and my own assessments. These posts will mostly focus on Strategy and the Chinese long game, leaning more on the technological aspects peppered with history, politics, diplomacy and a fair bit of exploration. Most importantly, I will try and provide an Indian perspective to the discussion and hopefully paint a picture of what we need to pack for the long road ahead. Listed below are some interesting docs you could read to expand your knowledge, feel free to suggest more and I'll refer to them in subsequent posts as well:
Thanks and see you soon!