China restructures military with focus on tech-driven forces amid regional tensions

China has restructured its military with a focus on technology-driven strategic forces capable of modern warfare, as tensions rise between China and other regional powers. The move by President Xi Jinping involved scrapping the Strategic Support Force (SSF) in favour of three new units: an Information Support Force, Aerospace Force, and Cyberspace Force. These will report directly to the Central Military Commission headed by Xi. According to a defence ministry spokesman, Wu Qian, the move follows “in-depth thinking over improving armed forces building for combat wining,” amid developments such as artificial intelligence (AI) and other new technologies that are transforming warfare into an ‘intelligentized’ battlefield of the future. The creation of these units suggests that China seeks direct oversight from its military commander on all technological innovations with key roles in cyberspace, space operations, electronic and psychological warfare capabilities. Xi has also been purging corruption within the PLA over the past year which some believe was an impetus for this latest reorganisation. The new structure places greater emphasis on information dominance as a critical factor in modern conflict, with network technology now regarded “as the biggest variable” enhancing combat capability by granting control of war’s initiative to those who dominate it first. As China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to take control of the island if necessary, analysts predict that this Information Support Force would likely spearhead efforts for Beijing to dominate information space in any potential future conflict over the disputed region.