In a programme representative of the progress being made within its immense armed forces, the Chinese Military is currently assessing the performance of a system that gives essential battlefield information to commanders in real-time. As detailed on the 19^th September by Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, the trial is but one component of a wider directive to better the current level of military data gathering systems – a weak factor within the People’s Liberation Army.

In conversation with AFP, retired general Xu Gaungyu put the significance of the system into context: "We are trying to catch up with the advanced countries”, he said. “It's a very complicated system, as it involves every military unit. I think we need at least ten years to catch up with the world's most sophisticated nations."

The current trial, taking place in the form of a drill, is entitled “North Sword 0709”. It is being undertaken at Zhurihe – a training site located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (North China). Zhurihe itself is the biggest military training base located in China.

As described by Xinhua, 2,000 soldiers are taking part in North Sword 0709. Each has been provided with one of the systems, which provides a constant feed of data back to HQ in respect of movements on the battlefield. The process permits those in command to be constantly in the picture regarding injuries, levels of ammunition and levels of food in respect of units for which they are responsible.

A senior officer participating in the drill, Zhang Jixiang, added: "The system could let us know the exact conditions our troops are under in combat... and when we should support them with logistics".

As per Robert Karniol, an independent expert on military issues – the performance of the devices taps into a wider philosophy – known in military parlance as “battlefield awareness”. "The better commanders know what's happening on the battlefield, the better they can apply their resources, whether in people or in firepower or in mobility or in logistics support", he stated.

It is not known at what point China began assessing the need to improve its battlefield awareness capabilities. However, a frequent observation is that the technological progress exhibited by the US in the initial Gulf War in 2001 was highly influential. "You can say with some certainty that the first Gulf War accelerated the process", Mr Karniol added.

In recent times, the People’s Liberation Army has been linked to alleged instances of hacking into certain computer systems at the Pentagon – claims vehemently denied by China.

Source – Armed Forces International’s Far East Correspondent

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