揭仲的國防與中共軍事專題研究

After the PLA completed preliminary adjustments to its command and control mechanism, joint operations command mechanism, force structure and troop organization, “comprehensive enhancement of realistic combat training” has become its next-phase focus of reform. 

To push military training reform further ahead, the PLA revised its “Outline of Military Training” at the end of 2017 and put the revised edition into practice on Jan. 1, 2018 as the basis for deepening realistic military training.

The newest edition of “Outline of Military Training” is based on the demands of “refined training” in the new age of information warfare. Through subdivision of military training into more specific parts, training objectives are quantified, with each training course, stage, level and service member required to reach standards. The aim is to ensure that units at all levels put training content into practice according to unified standards and quantitative and qualitative requests.

Under the guidance of the revised “Outline of Military Training,” the PLA is very likely to place emphasis on areas such as “confrontational training,” “operational command training and training of new types of combat forces,” “mission topic training and all processes system of systems training,” and “enhancement of base training and training performance evaluation up to the level of realistic combat training.” The aim is to bring military training as close to real-life combat situations as possible. However, problems with “personnel training,” “command platform for training purposes,” “specialized blue army,” “specialized training base,” and “training content” are yet to be solved. The PLA still needs quite some time to reach the goal of modernization.

To cope with the demands of “integrated joint operations(一體化聯合作戰)”, a new operational mode still being explored by the PLA, includes in this round of military reform the transformation of traditional army battalions into a new type of battalion known as “combined arms battalion(合成營)” in an effort to enable the PLA to move toward a “smaller, modularized and multi-functional(小型化、模塊化、多能化)” force structure.

    If the PLA attacks Taiwan, the basic tactics for its ground forces to land on Taiwan will be to “destroy nodes, choose most vulnerable sites to land and rapidly gain control(節點摧毀、擇弱登陸、快速奪控)”. But the PLA’s traditional three-tier “division-regiment-battalion” system is in practice an order of battle that cannot function effectively in campaigns against Taiwan because of limitations caused by the island’s topography. Framed within such traditional structure, PLA troops, as the offensive side, will find it hard to break through the defense of Taiwan, the defensive side.

    PLA Army combined arms battalions feature capability to land in smaller areas, greater flexibility in forming interoperable capabilities with other specialty arms, and higher levels of informationization. They are suitable to be used in amphibious assaults on Taiwan. The PLA may use combined arms battalions as the backbone of a modular force against Taiwan that receives reinforcements from other arms or units, such as special operations, army aviation, amphibious elements subordinate to group armies, air force’s airborne branch, and elite troops of the marine corps. It poses a great threat to the security of Taiwan.