Martin Andrew
Martin Andrew retired from the Australian Defense Force after 28 years of service and holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Bond University. His book, How the PLA Fights: Weapons and Tactics of the People’s Liberation Army, is in its 5th edition.
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Articles by Martin Andrew
It Isn’t All About Europe: The Impacts of China’s Missile Forces on Russian Threat Perceptions and the INF Architecture
Background The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed in December 1987 between the United States and the Soviet Union, bound the signatories to eliminate “ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with...
China’s Conventional Cruise and Ballistic Missile Force Modernization and Deployment
The People's Republic of China (PRC) 60th National Day, which took place on October 1, 2009, was lauded by the Chinese-media for its display of the military's ‘precision striking capabilities.’...
New Advances in PLA Battlefield Aerospace and ISR
A profound transformation is taking place in Chinese battlefield aerospace, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLAs) xinxihua zhanchang (informationalized battlefield) program is assisting its armed forces in attaining information domination on...
PLAs Mechanization and Informationization Come of Age: Sharpening and Vanguard-2008
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is developing a force that resembles the efforts of the Soviet Army in East Germany in 1986, which was creating an Operational ‘Shock Division’ of...
The PLA’s Evolving Operational Doctrine: Experiments in Modularity
The People’s Liberation Army's (PLA) focus on creating modular combined arms forces is part of its plan to create a Hardened and Networked Army (HNA) [1]. It is mechanizing the...
Guarding the West: China’s New Mechanized Infantry Division
The role of Xinjiang and Tibet as both suppliers and conduits of resources necessary for China’s continued economic growth has resulted in a reevaluation of both regions’ importance. Xinjiang, with...
Guarding the West: China’s New Mechanized Infantry Division
The role of Xinjiang and Tibet as both suppliers and conduits of resources necessary for China’s continued economic growth has resulted in a reevaluation of both regions’ importance. Xinjiang, with...
PLA Doctrine on Securing Energy Resources in Central Asia
An article in the April edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review, written by two senior Chinese academics, reveals that China would go to war to secure its energy needs...
PLA Doctrine on Securing Energy Resources in Central Asia
An article in the April edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review, written by two senior Chinese academics, reveals that China would go to war to secure its energy needs...
The Resurgence of PLA Light Infantry
Light infantry units in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been resurging as the PLA transforms itself into an organization that is capable of operating beyond its borders. These units...
The Resurgence of PLA Light Infantry
Light infantry units in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been resurging as the PLA transforms itself into an organization that is capable of operating beyond its borders. These units...
The Resurgence of PLA Light Infantry
Light infantry units in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been resurging as the PLA transforms itself into an organization that is capable of operating beyond its borders. These units...
The PLA’s New Calculus for Force Posture
“All warfare is based on deception,” Sun Tzu declared. Historically, China has faithfully adopted this maxim by launching a diplomatic offensive prior to military action either to deceive other countries...
PLA Doctrine on Securing Energy Resources in Central Asia
An article in the April edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review, written by two senior Chinese academics, reveals that China would go to war to secure its energy needs...
Theater Ballistic Missiles and China’s Doctrine of “Active Defense”
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense recently announced that China has accelerated its build-up of theater ballistic missiles facing the island and that by 2010 nearly 1,800 missiles will be poised...
Modernizing PLA Logistics
As the poor cousin of combat arms, logistics has suffered from chronic resource shortages since the inception of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). With the PLA reorganizing their forces into...
Power Politics: China, Russia, and Peace Mission 2005
From August 18–25 elements of the Chinese and Russian armed forces conducted an eight-day joint exercise with the stated aim to strengthen “the capability of the two armed forces to...
Terrorism, Riots, and the Olympics: New Missions and Challenges for China’s Special Forces
A series of external and internal demands in China’s security environment have resulted in modifications to the country’s Special Forces units. Changes to special forces units in the PLA have...
The Dragon Breathes Fire: Chinese Power Projection
Despite the sheer size of China’s military forces, the country’s power projection capability is currently quite small for operations outside its land borders. It is quite capable of launching land...
BEIJING’S GROWING SECURITY DILEMMA IN XINJIANG
China’s need for energy to fuel its burgeoning economy means that Xinjiang is now critical to its future. The Tarin Basin alone has proven reserves of over one billion tons...