Studying Landpower in the Indo-Pacific

For many casual observers, the U.S. Army has little to say in how a future war in the Indo-Pacific will play out, especially regarding China. The image most have is blue: blue skies and blue water—a job for the navy the air force. China’s main objective—retaking Taiwan—would seem to back this up, necessitating some sort of amphibious assault that could end up on the beaches but initially involve obtaining some sort of air and sea superiority.

While all of this is true, it neglects the key role that landpower plays in the region and, crucially, in the mentality of China’s armed forces. Although China has been funneling resources into naval and air forces, at heart it remains a power fixated on land as indicated in the name of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

This is why the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) established the China Landpower Studies Center (CLSC) in January 2024. Responding to increased demand for research and analysis of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s strategic landpower from U.S. policymakers and military leaders, the Army’s new think tank is staffed with language researchers who understand the military dynamics between PLA ground forces, their joint services, and the Central Military Commission (CMC) at any level of classification.  This allows the team to tackle topics ranging from how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) understands the strategic and operational environment to assessing how the PLA is modernizing its strategies and organizations.

Led by me as the center director and Josh Arostegui, the chair of research, CLSC’s research areas directly support several stakeholders spanning the U.S. Army, the broader defense community, and academia as they continue to ask critical questions that support our country’s policy of integrated deterrence. To answer those questions, the CLSC will produce insights of high enough quality to be used in a military campaign. These include short articles, longer monographs, academic peer-reviewed works, and podcasts. The Center’s research is based on in-military texts, media, and journal articles in Chinese to provide an understanding of the PRC’s strategies and ambitions.

While most of the Center’s publications will focus on PRC defense and strategy topics, the staff’s research portfolio also includes other important actors in the Indo-Pacific, such as Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and their relations to the PRC. The Center will also work with think tanks and academia from partner nations to include their points of view on the strategic and operational environments in the Indo-Pacific.

The Center will also illuminate how U.S. landpower plays an outsized role in in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. The staff will outline options for using strategic landpower during crises and wartime to deny adversary objectives and avoid culmination during a potential war. This focus on U.S. policy and capabilities in the region will advise how other nations can integrate their visions of multidomain operations via strategic engagement, exercises, training, posture changes, and foreign military sales or finance.

The CLSC team will publish on its website while contributing to other outlets and update its social media regularly. The Center will also continue to host the annual Carlisle Conference on the PLA, with the next iteration taking place in October 2024.

Visit the CLSC virtually at https://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/CLSC/ and on social media via LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Instagram.