BEIJING: The centralized PLA logistics system has "a soft underbelly" that could reduce its usefulness on the battlefield, according to Pentagon experts. Re-supplying field troops in a changing environment requires adaptive decisions, otherwise the difficulties will be similar to those faced by Russia in Ukraine.
Despite recent improvements, senior US military analysts have found a "surprising lack" in the Chinese military's logistics, indicating a lack of readiness to join the conflict too soon. Joshua Arostegui, a senior analyst at the US Department of Defense and other military experts, claimed that despite the large number of recruits, the People's Liberation Army's combat preparedness was plagued by military weaknesses.
According to Arostegui, some unexpected gaps sometimes appear in logistic support for the PLA army's battles. He made this statement on Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. How long can the PLA really expect to function at a tactical level where fighting actually takes place without modern logistics techniques? Their findings are supported by a recent Pentagon analysis of journal articles published in China and official CCTV footage highlighting the lack of logistical infrastructure in the PLA, from Navy replenishment ships to aircraft apron space for maintenance.
President Xi Jinping established the Joint Logistics Support Force in 2016, merging joint operations into a national unit, in an effort to overhaul logistics in the Chinese military.
Analysts claimed that the model overestimates potential, but it sacrifices direct authority for commanders in a particular theater and encourages bureaucratic delays. Beijing is still debating the advantages and disadvantages of different operating models, indicating that the PLA maintains different operating models for peace and war and has not decided how joint logistics force operations will be conducted during the war. . The PLA faced its first critical peacetime test during the coronavirus pandemic, when it was tasked with providing medical care and supplies, building hospitals and performing other tasks. According to Arostegui, the PLA performed "with a fairly high degree of success".
However, Arostegui and fellow Pentagon analyst JR Sessions noted that there are significant differences between a public health emergency and the use of a sophisticated military, and concerns persist about the PLA's preparedness to shift military responsibilities from civilian to military.
“The logistics system is somewhat of a soft underbelly for the PLA that could create problems for other countries looking to demotivate China,” Arostegui continued.
Sessions pointed out that the shortcomings in the PLA's new centralized logistics, particularly the ability to make dynamic decisions to resupply field troops in changing circumstances, reminded him of the issues Russia is fighting in Ukraine. He also noted Beijing's intention to use unproven domestic logistics companies such as JD.com and SF Express in wartime transportation. Sessions criticized the current system, stating that "movement requests sometimes require five or six layers of approval, attracting criticism from PLA logistics planners." Lonnie Henley, a former Defense Intelligence Agency China expert who now teaches at George Washington University, said he had "special questions" about the PLA's ability to sustain widespread air and naval warfare.
He believed that the transport units and equipment were "inadequate for the types of long-range maneuvering actions performed by these brigades." In my opinion, the PLA Air Force can conduct combat operations only for a period of two weeks. In some of his larger Air Force exercises, he never had to conduct aerial operations for more than a few days," Henley said. Simply put, "I don't think you understand that until you do. How difficult it really is. , Arostegui said the difficulties the PLA faces with making a living, Taiwan will have a more difficult time winning any potential conflict.
If we ask the same question to Taiwan's armed forces, I believe that if Taiwan is determined to face a PLA military operation, it will take longer than the PLA currently wants to break Taiwan's will, Arostegui said. But it depends as much on what is going on inside one's head as it does on the surface.
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