New Outline for the Chinese military
The Chinese President signs new outline for the military inspired by the Russians – or so the rumor says.
On June 13 2022, Xi Jinping as chairman of the Chinese Military Committee (CMC) signed a new "Outline for Non-War Military Operations for the Armed Forces [Trial]". The new outline took effect on June 15.
“Non-War Military Operations” focus on operations other than war fighting, including but not limited to operations such as disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping, counterpiracy and counterterrorism, among many others. With these operations "Chinese troops can prevent spillover effects of regional instabilities from affecting China, secure vital transport routes for strategic materials like oil, or safeguard China's overseas investments, projects and personnel", according to the government outlet Global Times. The outline contains 6 chapters and 59 articles - but the concrete details of the outline are not disclosed.
A new tactic?
What is the significance of this? First, the outline has been seen as a new tactic. Analysts have pointed to the timing of the signing of the outline as it comes months after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine calling it a “special military operation”. There is speculation whether China would intend to do something similar with regards to Taiwan. It is also pointed to that the outline could be linked to the recent security pact signed with Solomon Islands and a failed effort by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to convince other South Pacific nations to sign on to a similar agreement (Eugene Kuo Yujen, Taiwan's Institute for National Policy Research).
Fifth generation of operation regulations
Still evidence points to that rather than being new, the content of the outline dates back to November 2020 when the similar "Outline for Joint Operations for the Chinese Military [trial]" was issued by the CMC. It was only the fifth time that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has changed its operational doctrine since 1949. The outline is part of the "fifth generation" of operations regulations and it provides a framework to guide the subsequent development of the PLA's operational doctrine. Over the next years, a process will unfold to issue additional outlines/regulations for each of the services as part of the operations doctrine of the fifth generation.
Second, rather than the concept “Non-War Military Activities” (NWMA) being a new tactic, PLA, in fact, integrated some level of NWMA into their forces in 2001, when it was introduced into PLA unit training (see article by Roderick Lee).
Third, it has been speculated that NWMA is inspired by Russia's “special military operations”. However, rather than Russia, NWMA is largely inspired by the US's MOOTW (Military Operations Other Than War). In fact, it appears that Russia only adopted a mature concept after the PLA (see article by Roderick Lee).
Concludingly
So, what is the overall significance? While the actual signing of the outline on non-war military operations is new and is attracting some attention, the content of the outline is not new. Still, it will be interesting to follow as the process of issuing additional outlines/regulations for each of the services unfolds over the next years.