The Chinese Military's Strategic Mind Set - Lecture Notes - United States Philosophy - Lieutenant Colonel Timothy L. Thomas,, Study notes of United States Philosophy

Download The Chinese Military's Strategic Mind Set - Lecture Notes - United States Philosophy - Lieutenant Colonel Timothy L. Thomas, and more Study notes United States Philosophy in PDF only on Docsity! 47Military review  November-December 2007 Lieutenant Colonel Timothy L. Thomas, U.S. Army, Retired Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Timothy L. Thomas is a senior analyst at the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Mr. Thomas holds a B.S. from West Point and an M.A. from the University of Southern California. While on active duty, he was a foreign area officer specializing in Soviet/Russian studies. His military assignments included serv- ing as director of Soviet studies at the United States Army Russian Institute (USARI) in Garmisch, Germany; as an inspector of Soviet tactical operations under the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and as a bri- gade intelligence officer and company commander in the 82d Airborne Divi- sion. In addition to working at FMSO, Mr. Thomas is an adjunct professor at the U.S. Army’s Eurasian Institute; an adjunct lecturer at the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School; and a member of two Russian organizations, the Academy of International Informa- tion, and the Academy of Natural Sciences. His most recent book is Decoding the Virtual Dragon, from which this article was extracted. Strategy” is a Chinese military term with thousands of years of tradition and culture behind it. in antiquity, the Chinese classified strategists according to four concept-categories: power and stratagem, dis- position and capability, yin and yang, and technique and skill.1 this strong emphasis on strategic concepts can still be felt. the 1997 Chinese Military Encyclopedia’s index, for example, offers a comprehensive overview of strategic concepts. the word “strategic” is followed by other terms (pivot, thought, surprise, etc.) 78 times in the index while concepts associated with the words “strategic” or “strategy” were used 21 times. a 2002 addendum to the encyclopedia added another 12 strategy-related items that resonate with idiosyncratic meaning often challenging to Western comprehension. But that does not mean that we cannot know how Chinese strategists think. By looking at several recent texts, especially The Science of Military Strat- egy (2001), we can arrive at some understanding of the Chinese military’s strategic mind-set. it differs markedly from the methodology the U.s. uses to develop its strategic thought. Stratagem, Philosophy, and Science the Chinese divide their concept of strategy scientifically into basic and applied theory, relying even today on the word’s ancient roots. For example, in routing an electronic warfare attack on an adversary’s computer network through a third country’s network, the Chinese would say they seek to “kill with a borrowed sword.”3 americans simply do not think in terms of using packets of electrons like so. this instance of cultural expression captures just how much ancient tradition has informed China’s modern strategic thinking. an important and revealing aspect of this mind-set is that the Chinese strive to impel opponents to follow a line of reasoning that they (the Chinese) craft. according to Li Bingyan, one of the most influential and brilliant con- temporary Chinese strategists, they work to entice technologically superior opponents into unwittingly adopting a strategy that will lead to their defeat.4 Li’s examples are noteworthy. First, he asks how an inferior force could fight a technologically superior opponent. Using the example of a weak mouse (i.e., China) trying to keep track of a huge cat (i.e., the U.s.), he asks, “How could a mouse hang a bell around a cat’s neck?” His answer: “the mouse cannot do this alone or with others. therefore, the mouse must entice the cat to put the bell on himself.” second, he asks, “How can you make a cat eat a hot pepper?” His answer: “you can stuff a pepper down a cat’s throat [the most difficult], you can put the pepper in cheese and make the cat swallow “ 48 November-December 2007  Military review it, or you can grind the pepper up and spread it on his back. the latter method makes the cat lick itself and receive the satisfaction of cleaning up the hot pepper.”5 the cat is oblivious to the end goal either in the case of the bell or the hot pepper. this decep- tion reflects idiosyncratic Chinese strategy and, at least so far as how an inferior force might defeat a superior force, it evinces their mind-set. When assessing the character of their country’s military culture, China’s ancient scholars arrived at a specific military style that is “good at strategy and adept at the use of the indirect method.”6 a recent report on China’s military culture notes: “Chinese scholars’ way of thinking was essentially a kind of wisdom and war, this lively confrontation between people with all its variables, this arena with all the traits of a game, which provided them with the best stage for giving free rein to their marvelous imaginations and creativity. While it is true that they attached importance to the substance of war, they attached even greater importance to bringing into play the subjective, dynamic roles of people, using strategy to gain victory, and they especially advocated not following one pattern and using the indirect to gain the upper hand.”7 the example of the cat demonstrates vividly the indirect method of bringing imagination and creativity into play. sun tzu and Mao tse-tung are probably the two most respected and quoted Chinese strategic phi- losophers and practitioners. almost every bookstore in america has a copy of sun tzu’s Art of War on its shelves, and even now, Western businessmen study Chinese strategic philosophy, including the 36 stratagems of war, to enhance sales and negotiation techniques.8 Military institutes worldwide study Mao’s writings on guerrilla warfare. The Science of Military Strategy, a compilation of essays by academicians at the Chinese academy of Military science (aMs), examines Chinese military strategy from historical, cultural, and contemporary vantage points and captures the essence of sun tzu’s and Mao’s strategic thought.9 Peng guangq- ian and yao youzhi, the book’s editors, are major generals in the People’s Liberation army (PLa) and are known for their thoughtful strategic analyses. yao is chief of the strategic studies Department at aMs, where Peng is a research fellow. the book appeared just two years after a 1999 recasting of Chinese military rules and regulations (the Chinese equivalent of doctrine). Consequently, it should offer a look at how new rules and regulations affect strategy. the book’s postscript notes that “the proj- ect team tried their best to write a theoretical work which is guided by the Marxist scientific concepts of war and strategy and based on our national and military situation; combines inheritance and devel- opment, imitation, and innovation; has the Chinese characteristics and features of the current time; and can play a guiding role in implementing the military strategic guidelines in the new era.”10 this postscript serves to underscore Chinese reliance on sun tzu’s and Mao’s strategic insights. Comparing Chinese and U.S. Concepts of Strategy according to the Chinese Military Encyclope- dia’s definition, strategy is “the analytical judg- ment of such factors as international conditions, hostilities in bilateral politics, military economics, science and technology, and geography as they apply to the preparation and direction of the overall military/war plan. it is advantageous: to study the occurrences and developments in war forecasting/ predictions; to formulate strategic policy, strategic principles, and strategic plans; to make warfare preparations; and to put into place directives on the actual principles and methods of warfare.”11 With its culturally idiosyncratic comprehensiveness, this definition hints at the major differences between Chinese and american views. the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Officer’s Handbook bases its definition more specifically on Mao’s thoughts; that is, strategy is a contest in subjective ability between commanders of oppos- ing armies to gain the initiative and superiority by manipulating material conditions.12 Material conditions include a country’s level of science and technology, defense budget, location of forces around the world, geographical setting, and such. subjective ability is the manner in which command- ers use creative ideas, initiative, and other factors to manipulate objective conditions to their benefit.13 The Science of Military Strategy gives a shorter definition of strategy. in a chapter on strategic thinking, Peng and yao define strategy as “a gen- eral plan to prepare and direct the preparation and implementation of war.”14 elsewhere, they defer to two Chinese classics that define strategy: Mao’s 51Military review  November-December 2007 C H I N E S E S T R AT E G Y there is more peacetime practice, at least in the electronic world, than one might have expected. ● Prediction is predicated on a deep analysis of all relevant elements and intentions and a com- plete understanding of objective conditions, not on simple analogy or inference.37 Basic and Applied Strategic Theory the sOs, precise and detailed in its characteristic elements, has two components: basic and applied strategic theory (see figure).38 Basic theory of strategy. the Chinese military subdivides basic strategic theory into the following: ● Concept of strategy (the relationship between war and strategy, targets and categories of sOs studies, scientific connotations of strategy, status of sOs in military art, strategic elements, strategic classifications, and stratified structure). ● Related elements of strategy (politics, econ- omy, science and technology, national interests, geography, cultural tradition, military force). ● Development history and evolutionary laws of strategic theory (study of historical paths leading toward the development of strategic theory). ● Essence and laws of strategic thinking (the top level of military art, based on the dialectic). ● Methods of SOS studies (scientific theories of knowledge and methodology in the strategic field that orient, process, and examine strategy and look at the integration of abstraction, logic, systems, Marxism, and case studies).39 three of these five subdivisions are elaborated below, to illuminate how sOs reflects the Chinese military’s strategic mind-set.  Concept of strategy. Peng and yao give an overall view of the “concept of strategy” from a Marxist viewpoint that emphasizes the objective- subjective nature of strategy: the objective physical conditions of war determine the laws of war as well as the guiding laws of war. although strategy manifests itself in a war conductor’s activities of subjective guidance, it [strategy] is by no means the war * National Interest is both the starting point and destination of Military Strategy Concept of Strategy Related Elements of Strategy Development History and Evolutionary Laws of Strategic Theory Essence and Laws of Strategic Thinking Methods of Science of Strategy Studies S + T GeographyPolitics Economy Cultural Tradition Military Force *National Interest Existence Development Marxism Case StudiesIntegration of Abstraction, Logic, and Systems Dialectic Core Values Social System Sovereignty Strategic Performance Strategic Formulation Strategic Guidance for Construction of Military Force Strategic Guidance for Employment of Military Force Strategic Decision Making Strategic Planning Strategic Judgment Strategic Defense Strategic Maneuver Strategic Command Strategic Offense Strategic AirRaid & Anti-AirRaid Strategic IW Strategic Psyop Strategic Support War Control Strategic Defense Strategic Decision War Preparation Principles of Strategic Actions High-Tech Local War Development of Modern High-Tech Wars Strategic Guidance on High-Tech Local War Science of Strategy “Military science studies the laws of war, laws of the conduct of war, and laws of the evolution of strategic thought” Applied Theory of Strategy Basic Theory of Strategy Chinese science of strategy. 52 November-December 2007  Military review conductors’ personally extemporary elabora- tion. instead it is based on given objective physical conditions and restricted by a certain social mode of production and certain social conditions of history. therefore, it is an impor- tant task for studies of the science of strategy to correctly analyze the objective elements having a bearing on war strategy and reveal their inher- ent connections with war strategy.40 Many of the primary characteristics of the Chinese “concept of strategy” shine through in this quotation. However, note that subjective creativity (“the war conductors’ personally extemporary elaboration”) might be limited because of a regime’s economic con- ditions (e.g., the social mode of production determines the type of weapons available) and military history and culture (e.g., historical social conditions influence when to use force and when to use diplomacy). From this it appears that the dynamic relation among subjec- tive creativity, the “objective physical conditions of war” (called “laws” in the quotation), and contingent factors affecting strategy appear not fully articulated in Peng and yao’s Marxist summary.  related elements of strategy. Peng and yao’s seven related elements—politics, economy, sci- ence and technology, geography, cultural tradition, military force, and national interest—are factors that subjective creativity can manipulate. Four of them are factors in determining strategy. the final element, national interest, is, according to the editors, both the start point and destination of military strategy.41 as such, it is the most important factor that determines strategy. it encompasses a state’s objective physi- cal and spiritual requirements. the Chinese divide national interest into national political interest, national economic interest, national military inter- est, and so on. generally, national interest equates to territorial integrity, security, political sovereignty, development, stability, and dignity.42 strategic goals involve protecting these vital interests. the element of strategy that functions as the second most important determining factor is mili- tary force, the nation’s strength and ability to fight and win a war. strength and ability to win help determine the nation’s material base for strategic planning. they are the fundamental means of achieving military strategic objectives. they also constrain war-making efforts and are the most active factors in efforts to change military strategy.43 geography is a third related element that factors into determining strategy. as Peng and yao discuss it, geography includes “geographic position,” “size and shape of territory,” “natural resources,” “the national capital’s location,” “frontiers and national boundar- ies,” “relative distance between states,” and “grand strategic space” (maritime, atmospheric, and outer space).44 taking these sub-elements into consideration with the other determining factors naturally plays into how strategic resources will be manipulated. a fourth and extremely important element that also functions as a determining factor of strategy is culture. Peng and yao define culture as “the sum total of a state or a nation’s spiritual and material precipitations accumulated under a long period of influence of its natural circumstances, social pattern, and economic level.”45 One forms strate- gic thought on the basis of certain historical and national cultural traditions, and the formulations and performance of strategy are always controlled and driven by a certain cultural ideology and historical-cultural complex.46 Different cultures bring various understandings of our world to the table. Close attention to a nation’s strategic culture can offer insight about that nation’s own strategy, enabling Chinese strategists to judge the strategic environment with greater certainty. With regard to culture, Peng and yao note that— the cultural history of the Chinese nation lasted more than 5,000 years without interrup- tion, forming a national cultural tradition with its unique characteristics. the benevolence and self- discipline of the Confucius school, the reluctance to use force and [the] indifference to fame and fortune of the taoist school, the diligence and sincerity of the Mohist school, the tactics and stratagem of military science, the sizing up of situations of political strategists and the educa- tion on farming and warfare of legalists all had tremendous influence on Chinese strategic think- ing and strategic culture. Chinese philosophy values identity and unification. Chinese history is a history of a unified multinational state for more than 2,000 years. all these [factors] imprint firmly and deeply the idea of unification on the psychology of the nation.47 to summarize, cultural tradition plays a large role in determining strategy and shaping China’s articulation of its strategic mind-set. 53Military review  November-December 2007 C H I N E S E S T R AT E G Y  essence and laws of strategic thinking. the principles (i.e., “laws”) of strategic thinking are another subdivision of the basic theory of strategy. in accordance with strategic factors, strategic think- ing formulates strategic thought, strategic guide- lines, and strategic decisions.48 the characteristics of strategic thinking include— ● Totality (a comprehensive look at the parts and elements). ● Confrontation (a contest of material and spiri- tual forces). ● Certainty (starting from the fact that war is full of uncertainty about the enemy situation but ending with certain conclusions about the enemy). ● Foresight (using history, current factors, wisdom, and resolution to visualize future war). ● Creativity (that is, the soul of strategic thinking requires subjective initiative to surpass experience and tradition). ● Inheritance (culture).49 strategic thinking should always possess these characteristics regardless of any model employed to form strategy. among the five models of strategic thinking that Peng and yao list are the objective and subjective thinking model and the stratagem and force thinking model.50 Objective strategic thinking refers to activities that, in war, reflect the objective principles of war and strategy (called “laws” in their models). sub- jective strategic thinking refers to activities that yield strategic judgments and decisions based on subjective will, especially the data and experience in one’s mind.51 a second model of strategic thinking is the strata- gem or force type, divided according to the degree of strength (soft stratagem or hard force) applied by the strategic subject. Winning by stratagem has always “been the main idea of traditional Chinese strategic thinking . . . [it entails] the use of limited force to achieve victory or to realize the aim of the war.”52 in contrast, Western thinking pays more attention to contests of strength, emphasizing direct confrontation or force-type models.53 Applied theory: general laws and the conduct of war. the second subdivision of the science of strategy is applied theory, the practical system that studies the principles of strategic guidance (i.e., its “laws”), which consist of strategic formulation and strategic performance. strategic formulation comprises— ● Strategic judgment (the nature of a threat, posture, or intention). ● Strategic decision-making (the strategic aim, mission, guidelines, and deployment). ● Strategic planning (the prearrangements for war). strategic performance consists of— ● Strategic guidance for the construction of military force. ● Strategic guidance for the employment of military force (including such operations as strategic command, strategic maneuver, strategic offense and strategic defense, strategic air raid and anti-air raid, strategic information warfare, strategic psychological warfare, and strategic support. Developing laws for high-tech local wars is a new field in this subset).54 strategic planning, a subset of strategic formula- tion, is of particular interest. Peng and yao note that the task of strategic planning is to restrict war, make war preparations, and win the war, in that order.55 a wise strategist’s first step is to soberly estimate the war strength and potential of an opposing force in order to analyze the basis of war.56 intimidation, efficient war power, limited deterrence means, and some form of parity are the best ways to contain and restrict war.57 a deterrence strategy, which consists of appro- priate military strength, resolve, and the will to use force, is necessary to persuade an opponent to perceive such strength and resolve. the deterrence strategy can be subdivided according to purpose and nature (offense and defense); degree (superiority, parity, limited, and minimum); scope (overall and partial); and structure (conventional, nuclear, and biochemical weapons).58 War preparations should be underway even in peacetime in case strategies to contain and restrict war fall short. Strategy in the Information Age stratagems and strategy have undergone evo- lutionary changes over the past 30 years with the advent of information technology and the miniatur- ization of weapons and equipment. the 1970s and 1980s witnessed the introduction of microtechnolo- gies, advanced missile technologies, cyberization of weaponry (the use of computer chips in weapons for guidance, precision, and so on), and the spread of military technologies into the civilian arena via