Chinese People’s Liberation Army Integrated Joint Operations

An interesting entry on China Defence Mashup provides a valuable overview of the military transformation process that is undergoing in China regarding the panning and conduct of Integrated Joint Operations (IJO).

The change from Joint Operations (JO) to Integrated Joint Operations (IJO) came about in the post 2002 era when the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) shifted the emphasis from local wars under hi-tech conditions to local wars under informationalised conditions.

The concept of IJO incorporates various types of units (ground, air, naval, missiles and logistics) and battlefield systems (Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Electronic warfare) into operations while treating each element equally in planning and execution.

While the organisation tree for the conduct of IJO at the campaign level is not available in the open domain, the responsibility to frame and suggest structures was given to the Nanjing Army Command Academy in the aftermath of US operations in Iraq in 2003. The responsibility included preparation of a doctrine, modular groupings at each level, integrated logistics, joint training and exercises and a strategic project to develop talented personnel in information technology. 

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