China’s Military Reform: The Strategic Support Force, Non-Traditional Warfare, and the Impact on Cross-Strait Security

Abstract

In late 2015, the Chinese leadership announced sweeping reforms designed to bring the military into the modern era, signaling a departure from a traditional over-dependence on ground forces and incorporating extensive structural reorganization to create a more balanced joint command system. The reform aims to create a system suited to the modern conditions of informatization, with direct leadership from the Central Military Commission, and is bolstered by the Chinese military’s advancement in progressive information technology, space technology, and cyber security. With the creation of a new Strategic Support Force (SSF), China has clearly demarcated the operational command of traditional and non-traditional warfare within the military system, representing a strategic and tactical step forward that gives greater scope to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to dominate in non-traditional military theaters. While the military reform has the potential to affect military strategy around Asia and further afield, the extent of China’s deep and far-reaching military reform, with a view to consolidating military capabilities under a joint command and giving full rein to non-traditional warfare under conditions of informatization, represents a particularly significant factor in the stability of cross-strait relations and security. This study will outline the creation of the SSF under the new reform, and discuss the development of China’s strategy and tactics for non-traditional warfare under conditions of informatization. The implications of the military reform will then be put into the cross-strait context, in order to draw conclusions concerning the potential impact on cross-strait security.