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well now let discuss china and Pakistan
is there any comparison in both nation in any field
china::
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People's Liberation Army
中国人民解放军
China Emblem PLA.svg
Emblem of the People's Liberation Army
Founded 1 August 1927
Service branches Ground Force Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg PLA Ground Force
Naval Ensign of the People's Republic of China.svg PLA Navy
Air Force Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg PLA Air Force
Second Artillery Corps
People's Armed Police
Leadership
Chairman of Central Military Commission Hu Jintao
Minister of Ministry of National Defense General Liang Guanglie
Chief of PLA General Staff General Chen Bingde
Manpower
Military age 1849 (compulsory de jure; voluntary de facto)
Conscription None
Available for
military service 654,229,201 males, age 1649 (2009 est.),
429,058,000 females, age 1649 (2009 est.)
Fit for
military service 472,294,719 males, age 1649 (2009 est.),
350,991,416 females, age 1649 (2009 est.)
Reaching military
age annually 11Million~ males (2009 est.),
10Million~ females (2009 est.)
Active personnel approximately 3,440,000[1] (ranked 1st)
Reserve personnel 1,200,000[1]
Deployed personnel Overseas: ~300 anti-pirate personel in Somalia [1]
Paramilitary: approximately 4,100,000[1]
Total: 7,540,000~ [1] (ranked 3rd)
Expenditures
Budget $80.64 billion (2010) [2] (ranked 2nd)
Percent of GDP 1,5% (2010 est.)
Industry
Domestic suppliers Norinco
Aviation Industry Corporation of China
Poly Technologies
Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation
Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation
Inner-Mongolia First Machine Group Company Limited
Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation
Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation
Shenyang Aircraft Corporation
Sichuan Lantian Helicopter Company Limited
Harbin First Machinery Building Group Ltd
Aviation Industry Corporation of China
ACAC consortium
Hongdu Aviation Industry Group
China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation
Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation
Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group
Jiangnan Shipyard
China State Shipbuilding Corporation
China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation[3]
Foreign suppliers Russia
Israel[4][5]
France
Germany
Annual imports Russia
Annual exports Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia
Related articles
History History of the PLA
Modernization of the PLA
Ranks Army
Navy
Air Force
[hide]People's Liberation Army
Traditional Chinese 中國人民解放軍
Simplified Chinese 中国人民解放军
Literal meaning China People's Liberation Army
[show]Transliterations
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn
Cantonese
- Jyutping zung1 gwok3 jan4 man4 gaai2 fong3 gwan1
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) (simplified Chinese: 人民解放军; traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍; pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn) is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 celebrated annually as "PLA Day" as the military arm of the Communist Party of China (CCP). The People's Liberation Army's insignia consists of a roundel with a red star bearing the Chinese characters for "Eight One" referring to August 1 (Chinese: 八一
, the date of the 1927 Nanchang Uprising.
The PLA is the world's largest military force, with approximately 3 million members (see List of countries by number of total troops), and has the world's largest (active) standing army, with approximately 2.25 million members (see List of countries by number of active troops). The PLA comprises five main service branches consisting of the PLA Ground Force, PLA Navy (PLAN), PLA Air Force (PLAAF), Second Artillery Corps (strategic nuclear or missile force), and the PLA Reserve Force. The People's Armed Police (PAP), a Chinese paramilitary force under the dual leadership of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of Public Security, is sometimes confused as a branch of the PLA (both the PLA and the PAP are under the lead of Central Military Commission).
Military service is compulsory, in theory, for all men who attain the age of 18; women may register for duty in the medical, veterinary, and other technical services at ages as young as 14. However, a draft in China has never been enforced due to large numbers of volunteers from China's huge population. Demobilized servicemen are carried in a ready reserve, which is reinforced by a standby reserve of veterans and by the militia.
The PLA is formally under the command of the Central Military Commission of the CCP; there is also an identical commission in the government, but it has no clear independent functions. The Ministry of National Defense, which operates under the State Council, does not exercise any authority over the PLA and is far less powerful than the Central Military Commission (CMC). The ministry assures continuing CCP control over the armed forces, and its primary role is that of a liaison office with foreign militaries. The political and military leaderships has made a concerted effort to create a professional military force restricted to national defense and to the provision of assistance in domestic economic construction and emergency relief. This conception of the role of the PLA requires the promotion of specialized officers who can understand modern weaponry and handle combined arms operations. Troops around the country are stationed in seven military regions and more than 20 military districts.
Chairman Hu Jintao has defined the missions of the PLA as:
* Consolidate the ruling status of the Communist Party
* Help ensure Chinas sovereignty, territorial integrity, and domestic security in order to continue national development
* Safeguard Chinas expanding national interests
* Help maintain world peace[6]
PLA Ground Force
Main article: People's Liberation Army Ground Force
The PLA deploys the world's largest ground force, currently totaling some 1.6 million personnel, or about 70 percent of the PLA's total manpower (2.3 million). The ground forces are divided among the seven military regions as named above.
A Type 99 tank at the China People's Revolution Military Museum in Beijing
The regular forces of the ground forces consist of 18 Group Armies, which are corps-size combined arms units each with approximately 30,000-65,000 personnel. The group armies contain, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies's 2006 Military Balance, among them 9 armored divisions, 3 mechanized infantry divisions, 24 motorized infantry divisions, 15 infantry divisions, two amphibious assault divisions, one mechanized infantry brigade, 22 motorized infantry brigades, 12 armored brigades, 7 artillery divisions, 14 artillery brigades, 19 anti-aircraft artillery missile brigades, and 10 army aviation (helicopter) regiments (two training).
In times of crisis, the PLA Ground Force will be reinforced by numerous reserve and paramilitary units. The PLA reserve component has about 1.2-1.5 million personnel divided into 30 infantry, and 12 anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) divisions. In addition, approximately 1.1 million armored personnel carriers (APC). Two amphibious mechanized divisions were also created in Nanjing and Guangzhou MR. At least 40 percent of PLA divisions and brigades are now mechanized or armored, almost double the percentage before the reduction.
While much of the PLA Ground Force was being reduced over the past few years, technology-intensive elements such as special operations forces (SOF), army aviation (helicopters), surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and electronic warfare units have all been rapidly expanded. The latest operational doctrine of the PLA ground forces highlights the importance of information technology, electronic and information warfare, and long-range precision strikes in future warfare. The older generation telephone/radio-based command, control, and communications (C3) systems are being replaced by an integrated battlefield information networks featuring local/wide-area networks (LAN/WAN), satellite communications, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based surveillance and reconnaissance systems, and mobile command and control centers.[12]
The Chinese marines have extensive training in CQC (close quarters combat) and hand-to-hand combat.
[edit] PLA Navy
Sailors shown in 2009 during 60th anniversary celebrations of the PLAN.
Main article: People's Liberation Army Navy
Until the early 1990s, the navy performed a subordinate role to the PLA Land Forces. Since then it has undergone rapid modernization. The 250,000-man Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is organized into three major fleets: the North Sea Fleet headquartered at Qingdao, the East Sea Fleet headquartered at Ningbo, and the South Sea Fleet headquartered in Zhanjiang. Each fleet consists of a number of surface ship, submarine, naval air force, coastal defense, and marine units.
The navy includes 35,000 Coastal Defense Force and 56,000 Naval infantry/Marines (two multi-arm marine brigades), plus a 56,000 PLAN Aviation naval air arm operating several hundred land-based aircraft and ship-based helicopters. As part of its overall program of naval modernization, the PLAN has been developing a blue water navy. The Navy also utilises the CJ-10 naval cruise missile system, which made its first public appearance during late 2009.
[show]
v d e
People's Republic of China Ship classes of the Chinese Navy
Submarines
Nuclear
ballistic missile
Type 096 Tang class* · Type 094 Jin class · Type 092 Xia class
Nuclear attack
Type 097 Qin class* · Type 095 class* · Type 093 Shang class · Type 091 Han class
Conventional
ballistic missile
Modified Project 629 Golf class
Conventional
attack
Type 041 Yuan class · Type 039/039A/039G Song class · Type 035 Ming class · Type 033 Romeo class ·
Project 636 Kilo II class · Project 877EKM Kilo I class
Principal
surface
combatants
Aircraft carriers
Future Chinese carrier* · Project 1143.5 Kuznetsov class* · Kiev class+
Destroyers
Type 052D destroyer* · Type 051D destroyer* · Type 052C Luyang II (Lanzhou) class · Type 052B Luyang I (Guangzhou) class · Type 052 Luhu class ·
Type 051C Luzhou class · Type 051B Luhai class ·
Type 051DT Luda IV class · Type 051G1/G2 Luda III class · Type 051 Luda II class · Type 051 Luda I class ·
Project 956EM Sovremenny II class · Project 956 Sovremenny I class
Frigates
Type 054B frigate* · Type 054A Jiangkai II class · Type 054 Jiangkai I (Ma'anshan) class ·
Type 053H3 Jiangwei II class · Type 053H2G Jiangwei I class ·
Type 053H1G Jianghu V class · Type 053HT-H Jianghu IV class · Type 053H2 Jianghu III class · Type 053H1 Jianghu II class · Type 053H Jianghu I class
Coastal
warfare
vessels
Missile boats
Type 022 Houbei class · Type 037-II Houjian class · Type 037-IG Houxin class · Type 021 Houdong class · Type 021 Huangfeng (Soviet Osa-I) class · Type 021 Hola class · China Cat (C 14) class · Type 024 Heku/Hegu/Houku/Hougu class
Torpedo boats
Type 025 Huchuan class · P4 class
Gunboats
Type 062-I Shanghai III class · Type 062 Shanghai II class · Type 062 Shanghai I class · Type 206 Huludao class · Shantou class+ · Beihai class+ · Huangpu class+ · Yulin class+
Submarine chasers
Type 037-IS Haiqing class · Type 037-I Haijiu class · Type 062-I Haizhui class · Type 037 Hainan class · Kronshtadt class
Amphibious
warfare
vessels
Landing platforms
Type 071 Yuzhao class amphibious transport dock
Landing ships
Type 072 Yukan class LST · Type072-II Yuting I class LST · Type 072-III Yuting II class LST · Type 079 Yuliang class LSM · Type 074 Yuhai (Wuhu-A) class LSM · Type 073 I/II/III class LSM · Type 073 IV Yunshu class LSM
Landing craft
Yubei class LCU · Type 722-II Jingsha II class LCAC · Type 724 LCAC · Type 271 Yupen class LCU · Type 067 Yunnan class LCU · Type 068/069 Yuch'in class LCM ·
Zubr class LCAC*
Minesweepers,
Minelayers
Type 081 Wochi class minehunter · Type 082-II Wozang class minehunter · Type 918 Wolei class minelayer · Type 010 class oceangoing minesweeper · T-43 class oceangoing minesweeper+ ·
Type 082 Wosao class minesweeper · Type 062 Fushun class coastal minesweeper+ · Type 312 Futi class minesweeper / minesweeping drone
* = Under construction or procurement
+ = Retired
Ships of the Chinese Navy · People's Liberation Army
[edit] PLA Air Force
Main article: People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), with some 250,000 personnel and 2300 Fighters and Attackers, is organized into seven Military Region Air Forces (MRAF) and 24 Air Divisions. It is the largest air force in Asia-Pacific region and the third largest in the world (after the USAF and the Russian Air Force). The largest operational units within the Aviation Corps is the air division, which has 2 to 3 aviation regiments, each with 20 to 36 aircraft. The surface-to-air missile (SAM) Corps is organized into SAM divisions and brigades. There are also three airborne divisions manned by the PLAAF.
[edit] Second Artillery Corps
Main article: Second Artillery Corps (China)
The Second Artillery Corps (SAC) is the strategic missile forces of the PLA. It controls China's nuclear and conventional strategic missiles. China's total nuclear arsenal size is estimated to be between 100 and 400 nuclear weapons. The SAC has approximately 90,000-120,000 personnel and six ballistic missile divisions (missile corps bases). The six divisions are independently deployed in different military regions and have a total of 15 to 20 missile brigades.
[edit] People's Armed Police
A People's Armed Police Squad in the Forbidden City
Main article: People's Armed Police
The PAP is the paramilitary force primarily responsible for law enforcement and internal security and is under a unique dual-leadership system of the Central Military Commission and local public security bureaus (local police departments). The PAP was formed in 1983 when the PLA transferred its internal security and border defense responsibilities to the Ministry of Public Security. In wartime, the PAP, as part of China's armed forces, would be used as light infantry, performing border defense and other support functions to assist the regular ground forces.
In general, the PLA regular forces' main purpose is national defense and has rarely been used for internal security or police functions. Most such issues in the country however are handled by the paramilitary People's Armed Police. The instances in which the PLA has been used for non-military internal security duties have included several incidents during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, Tibet in 1989, and with the Tiananmen Protests of 1989. Many times, the PLA has been involved in flood relief operations, particularly in the Yellow River region
Military intelligence
[edit] General Staff Department
The General Staff Department carries out staff and operational functions for the PLA and had major responsibility for implementing military modernization plans. Headed by the chief of general staff, the department served as the headquarters for the ground forces and contained directorates for the three other armed services: Air Force, Navy, and Strategic Missile Force. The General Staff Department included functionally organized subdepartments for artillery, armored units, engineering, operations, training, intelligence, mobilization, surveying, communications, quartermaster services, and politics.
Navy Headquarters controlled the North Sea Fleet, East Sea Fleet, and South Sea Fleet. Air Force Headquarters generally exercised control through the commanders of the seven military regions. Nuclear forces were directly subordinate to the General Staff Department. Conventional main, regional, and militia units were controlled administratively by the military region commanders, but the General Staff Department in Beijing could assume direct operational control of any main-force unit at will. Thus, broadly speaking, the General Staff Department exercises operational control of the main forces, and the military region commanders controlled the regional forces and, indirectly, the militia.
The post of principal intelligence official in the top leadership of the Chinese military has been taken up by a number of people of several generations, from Li Kenong in the 1950s to Xiong Guangkai in the late 1990s; and their public capacity has always been assistant to the deputy chief of staff or assistant to the chief of staff.
Ever since the CPC officially established the system of "major military regions" for its army in the 1950s, the intelligence agencies inside the Army have, after going through several major evolutions, developed into the present three major military intelligence setups.
* The central level is composed of the Second and Third Departments under the PLA General Staff Headquarters and the Liaison Department under the PLA General Political Department.
* At the major military regions intelligence activities consist of the Second Bureau established at the same level as the Operation Department under the Headquarters, and the Liaison Department established under the Political Department.
* The third system includes a number of communications stations directly established in the garrison areas of all the major military regions by the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters.
The Second Bureau under the Headquarters and the Liaison Department under the Political Department of major military regions are only subjected to the "professional leadership" of their "counterpart" units under the Central Military Commission and are still considered the direct subordinate units of the major military region organizationally.
Those entities whose names include the word "institute," all research institutes under the charge of the Second and the Third Departments of the PLA General Staff Headquarters, including other research organs inside the Army, are at least of the establishment size of the full regimental level.
Among the deputy commanders or deputy chiefs of staff of a major military region in China, there is always one who is assigned to take charge of intelligence work, and the intelligence agencies under his charge are directly affiliated to the headquarters and the political department of the military region.
The Conference on Strengthening Intelligence Work held from 3 September 1996 18 September 1996 at the Xishan Command Center of the Ministry of State Security and the General Staff Department. Chi Haotian delivered a report entitled "Strengthen Intelligence Work in a New International Environment To Serve the Cause of Socialist Construction." The report emphasized the need to strengthen the following four aspects of intelligence work:
* Efforts must be made to strengthen understanding of the special nature and role of intelligence work, as well as understanding of the close relationship between strengthening intelligence work on the one hand, and of the Four Modernizations of the motherland, the reunification of the motherland, and opposition to hegemony and power politics on the other.
* The United States and the West have all along been engaged in infiltration, intervention, sabotage, and intelligence gathering against China on the political, economic, military, and ideological fronts. The response must strengthen the struggle against their infiltration, intervention, sabotage, and intelligence gathering.
* Consolidating intelligence departments and training a new generation of intelligence personnel who are politically reliable, honest and upright in their ways, and capable of mastering professional skills, the art of struggle, and advanced technologies.
* Strengthening the work of organizing intelligence in two international industrial, commercial, and financial portsHong Kong and Macau.
Although the four aspects emphasized by Chi Haotian appeared to be defensive measures, they were in fact both defensive and offensive in nature.
[edit] Second Department
The Second Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters is responsible for collecting military intelligence. Activities include military attachés at Chinese embassies abroad, clandestine special agents sent to foreign countries to collect military information, and the analysis of information publicly published in foreign countries.
The Second Department oversees military human intelligence (HUMINT) collection, widely exploits open source (OSINT) materials, fuses HUMINT, signals intelligence (SIGINT), and imagery intelligence data, and disseminates finished intelligence products to the CMC and other consumers. Preliminary fusion is carried out by the Second Department's Analysis Bureau which mans the National Watch Center, the focal point for national-level indications and warning. In-depth analysis is carried out by regional bureaus.
Although traditionally the Second Department of the General Staff Department was responsible for military intelligence, it is beginning to increasingly focus on scientific and technological intelligence in the military field, following the example of Russian agencies in stepping up the work of collecting scientific and technological information.
The research institute under the Second Department of the General Staff Headquarters is publicly known as the Institute for International Strategic Studies; its internal classified publication "Foreign Military Trends" (Wai Jun Dongtai) (外军动态 is published every 10 days and transmitted to units at the division level.
The PLA Institute of International Relations at Nanjing comes under the Second Department of the General Staff Department and is responsible for training military attaches, assistant military attaches and associate military attaches as well as secret agents to be posted abroad. It also supplies officers to the military intelligence sections of various military regions and group armies. The Institute was formed from the PLA "793" Foreign Language Institute, which moved from Zhangjiakou after the Cultural Revolution and split into two institutions at Luoyang and Nanjing.
The Institute of International Relations was known in the 1950s as the School for Foreign Language Cadres of the Central Military Commission, with the current name being used since 1964. The training of intelligence personnel is one of several activities at the Institute. While all graduates of the Moscow Institute of International Relations were employed by the KGB, only some graduates of the Beijing Institute of International Relations are employed by the Ministry of State Security. The former Institute of International Relations, since been renamed the Foreign Affairs College, is under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is not involved in secret intelligence work. The former Central Military Commission foreign language school had foreign faculty members who were either Communist Party sympathizers or were members of foreign communist parties. But the present Institute of International Relations does not hire foreign teachers, to avoid the danger that its students might be recognized when sent abroad as clandestine agents.
Those engaged in professional work in military academies under the Second Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters usually have a chance to go abroad, either for advanced studies or as military officers working in the military attache's office of Chinese embassies in foreign countries. People working in the military attache's office of embassies are usually engaged in collecting military information under the cover of "military diplomacy". As long as they refrain from directly subversive activities, they are considered as well-behaved "military diplomats."
Some bureaus under the Second Department which are responsible for espionage in different regions, of which the First Bureau is responsible for collecting information in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Agents are dispatched by the Second Department to companies and other local corporations to gain cover.
The "Autumn Orchid" intelligence group assigned to Hong Kong and Macau in the mid-1980s mostly operated in the mass media, political, industrial, commercial, and religious circles, as well as in universities and colleges. The "Autumn Orchid" intelligence group was mainly responsible for the following three tasks:
* Finding out and keeping abreast of the political leanings of officials of the Hong Kong and Macau governments, as well as their views on major issues, through social contact with them and through information provided by them.
* Keeping abreast of the developments of foreign governments' political organs in Hong Kong, as well as of foreign financial, industrial, and commercial organizations.
* Finding out and having a good grasp of the local media's sources of information on political, military, economic, and other developments on the mainland, and deliberately releasing false political or military information to the media to test the outside response.
The "Autumn Orchid" intelligence group was awarded a Citation for Merit, Second Class, in December 1994. It was further awarded another Citation for Merit, Second Class, in 1997. Its current status is not publicly known. During the 2008 Chinese New Year celebration CCTV held for Chinese diplomatic establishments, the head of the Second Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters was revealed for the first time to the public: the current head was Major General Yang Hui (杨晖, the former deputy head of the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters (he was a senior colonel when he held that position).
[edit] Third Department
The Third Department of the General Staff Headquarters is responsible for monitoring the telecommunications of foreign armies and producing finished intelligence based on the military information collected.
The communications stations established by the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters are not subject to the jurisdiction of the provincial military district and the major military region of where they are based. The communications stations are entirely the agencies of the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters which have no affiliations to the provincial military district and the military region of where they are based. The personnel composition, budgets, and establishment of these communications stations are entirely under the jurisdiction of the Third Department of the General PLA General Staff Headquarters, and are not related at all with local troops.
China maintains the most extensive SIGINT network of all the countries in the Asia-Pacific region. As of the late 1990s, SIGINT systems included several dozen ground stations, half a dozen ships, truck-mounted systems, and airborne systems. Third Department headquarters is located in the vicinity of the GSD First Department (Operations Department), AMS, and NDU complex in the hills northwest of the Summer Palace. As of the late 1990s, the Third Department was allegedly manned by approximately 20,000 personnel, with most of their linguists trained at the Luoyang Institute of Foreign Languages.
Ever since the 1950s, the Second and Third Departments of the PLA General Staff Headquarters have established a number of institutions of secondary and higher learning for bringing up "special talents." The PLA Foreign Language Institute at Luoyang comes under the Third Department of the General Staff Department and is responsible for training foreign language officers for the monitoring of foreign military intelligence. The Institute was formed from the PLA "793" Foreign Language Institute, which moved from Zhangjiakou after the Cultural Revolution and split into two institutions at Luoyang and Nanjing.
Though the distribution order they received upon graduation indicated the "PLA General Staff Headquarters," many of the graduates of these schools found themselves being sent to all parts of the country, including remote and uninhabited backward mountain areas. The reason is that the monitoring and control stations under the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters are scattered in every corner of the country.
The communications stations located in the Shenzhen base of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison started their work long ago. In normal times, these two communications stations report directly to the Central Military Commission and the PLA General Staff Headquarters. Units responsible for coordination are the communications stations established in the garrison provinces of the military regions by the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters.
By taking direct command of military communications stations based in all parts of the country, the CPC Central Military Commission and the PLA General Staff Headquarters can not only ensure a successful interception of enemy radio communications, but can also make sure that none of the wire or wireless communications and contacts among major military regions can escape the detection of these communications stations, thus effectively attaining the goal of imposing a direct supervision and control over all major military regions, all provincial military districts, and all group armies.
[edit] Monitoring stations
China's main SIGINT effort is in the Third Department of the General Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, with additional capabilities, primarily domestic, in the Ministry of State Security (MSS). SIGINT stations, therefore, are scattered through the country, for domestic as well as international interception. Prof. Desmond Ball, of the Australian National University, described the largest stations as the main Technical Department SIGINT net control station on the northwest outskirts of Beijing, and the large complex near Lake Kinghathu in the extreme northeast corner of China
As opposed to other major powers, China focuses its SIGINT activities on its region rather than the world. Ball wrote, in the eighties, that China had several dozen SIGINT stations aimed at Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and India, as well as internally.
Of the stations apparently targeting Russia, there are sites at Jilemutu and Jixi in the northeast, and at Erlian and Hami near the Mongolian border. Two Russian-facing sites in Xinjiang, at Qitai and Korla may be operated jointly with resources from the US CIA's Office of SIGINT Opeations, probably focused on missile and space activity.
Other stations aimed at South and Southeast Asia are on a net controlled by Chengdu, Sichuan. There is a large facility at Dayi, and, according to Ball, "numerous" small posts along the Indian border.
Other significant facilities are located near Shenyang, near Jinan and in Nanjing and Shanghai. Additional stations are in the Fujian and Guangdong military districts opposite Taiwan.
On Hainan Island, near Vietnam, there is a naval SIGINT facility that monitors the South China sea, and a ground station targeting US and Russian satellites. China also has ship and aircraft platforms in this area, under the South Sea Fleet headquarters at Zhanjiang immediately north of the island. Targeting here seems to have an ELINT as well as COMINT flavor.
There are also truck-mounted mobile ground systems, as well as ship, aircraft, and limited satellite capability. There are at least 10 intelligence-gathering auxiliary vessels.
As of the late nineties, the Chinese did not appear to be trying to monitor the US Pacific Command to the same extent as does Russia. In future, this had depended, in part, on the status of Taiwan.
[edit] Fourth Department
The Fourth Department (ECM and Radar) of the General Staff Headquarters Department has the electronic intelligence (ELINT) portfolio within the PLA's SIGINT apparatus. This department is responsible for electronic countermeasures, requiring them to collect and maintain data bases on electronic signals. 25 ELINT receivers are the responsibility of the Southwest Institute of Electronic Equipment (SWIEE). Among the wide range of SWIEE ELINT products is a new KZ900 airborne ELINT pod. The GSD 54th Research Institute supports the ECM Department in development of digital ELINT signal processors to analyze parameters of radar pulses.
[edit] Liaison Department
The PLA General Political Department (GPD) maintains the CPC structure that exists at every level of the PLA. It is responsible for overseeing the political education, indoctrination and discipline that is a prerequisite for advancement within the PLA. The GPD controls the internal prison system of the PLA.
The International Liaison Department of the General Political Department is publicly known as the "China Association for International Friendly Contacts". The department prepares political and economic information for the reference of the Political Bureau. The department conducts ideological and political work on foreign armies, explaining China's policies, and disintegrate enemy armies by dampening their morale. It is also tasked with instigating rebellions and disloyalty within the Taiwan military and other foreign militaries.
The Liaison Office has dispatched agents to infiltrate Chinese-funded companies and private institutions in Hong Kong. Their mission is counter-espionage, monitoring their own agents, and preventing and detecting foreign intelligence services buying off Chinese personnel.
[edit] Special Forces
China's counterterrorist unit is drawn from the police force rather than the military. The name changes frequently, but as of this writing, it is known as the Immediate Action Unit (IAU). The Chinese Army fields large number of special operations groups and would appear to have a vast pool of manpower to choose from. However, it is believed that any significant terrorist activity within Chinese borders would draw the attention of the IAU.
China has reportedly developed a force capable of carrying out long-range air-borne operations, long-range reconnaissance, and amphibious operations. Formed in China's Guangzhou military region and known by the nickname "Sword of Southern China", the force supposedly receives army, air force and naval training, including flight training, and is equipped with "hundreds of high-tech devices", including global-positioning satellite systems. All of the force's officers have completed military staff colleges, and 60 percent are said to have university degrees. Soldiers are reported to be cross-trained in various specialties, and training is supposed to encompass a range of operational environments. It is far from clear whether this unit is considered operational by the Chinese. It is also not clear how such a force would be employed. Among the missions mentioned were "responding to contingencies in various regions" and "cooperating with other services in attacks on islands". According to the limited reporting, the organization appears to be in a phase of testing and development and may constitute an experimental unit. While no size for the force has been revealed, there have been Chinese media claims that "over 4000 soldiers of the fore are all-weather and versatile fighters and parachutists who can fly airplanes and drive auto vehicles and motor boats".[citation needed]
Land-based weapons
The PLA's tank inventory was numbered around 10,000 during its peak time in the 1980s and 1990s, but this is estimated to have been reduced to 7,000, operating in 11 armored brigades.[16] The Chinese-produced versions of the Soviet T-54A (Type 59 and Type 69) account for over two-thirds of the total PLA tank inventory. While retiring some of the older Type 59/69 series and replacing them with the second generation Type 88 and Type 96, the PLA is also upgrading the remaining Type 59/69 series tanks with new technologies including improved communication and fire-control systems, night vision equipment, explosive reactive armor, improved powerplant, and gun-fired anti-tank missiles so that they can remain in service as mobile fire-support platforms. The newest tank is the Type 99, which entered PLA service in 2001.
The PLA also operates about 2,000 light tanks including the Type 62 light tank and the Type 63 amphibious tank, both of which entered production in the 1960s. The Type 63 has now been upgraded with the addition of the improved Type 63A featuring computerized fire-control, gun-fired anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), night vision equipment, satellite navigation, and improved powerplant.
[edit] Nuclear weapons
In 1955, China decided to proceed with a nuclear weapons program. The decision was made after the United States threatened the use of nuclear weapons against China should it take action against Quemoy and Matsu, coupled with the lack of interest of the Soviet Union for using its nuclear weapons in defense of China.
After their first nuclear test (China claims minimal Soviet assistance before 1960) on 16 October 1964, China was the first state to pledge no-first-use of nuclear weapons. On 1 July 1966, the Second Artillery Corps (as named by Premier Zhou Enlai) was formed. In 1967, China tested a fully-functional hydrogen bomb, only 32 months after China had made its first fission device. China thus produced the shortest fission-to-fusion development known in history.
China became a major international arms exporter during the 1980s. Beijing joined the Middle East arms control talks, which began in July 1991 to establish global guidelines for conventional arms transfers, and later announced that it would no longer participate because of the U.S. decision to sell 150 F-16A/B aircraft to Taiwan on 2 September 1992.
It joined the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1984 and pledged to abstain from further atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in 1986. China acceded to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1992 and supported its indefinite and unconditional extension in 1995. In 1996, it signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and agreed to seek an international ban on the production of fissile nuclear weapons material.
In 1996, China committed to provide assistance to unsafeguarded nuclear facilities. China attended the May 1997 meeting of the NPT Exporters (Zangger) Committee as an observer and became a full member in October 1997. The Zangger Committee is a group which meets to list items that should be subject to IAEA inspections if exported by countries, which have, as China has, signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. In September 1997, China issued detailed nuclear export control regulations. China began implementing regulations establishing controls over nuclear-related dual-use items in 1998. China also has decided not to engage in new nuclear cooperation with Iran (even under safeguards), and will complete existing cooperation, which is not of proliferation concern, within a relatively short period. Based on significant, tangible progress with China on nuclear nonproliferation, President Clinton in 1998 took steps to bring into force the 1985 U.S.China Agreement on Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation.
Beijing has deployed a modest ballistic missile force, including land and sea-based intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). It is estimated that China has about 100-160 liquid fueled ICBMs capable of striking the United States with approximately 100150 IRBMs able to strike Russia or Eastern Europe. China also possesses several hundred tactical SRBMs with ranges between 300 and 600 km.[17]
China's nuclear program follows a doctrine of minimal deterrence, which involves having the minimum force needed to deter an aggressor from launching a first strike. The current efforts of China appear to be aimed at maintaining a survivable nuclear force by, for example, using solid-fueled ICBMs in silos rather than liquid-fueled missiles. China's 2006 published deterrence policy claims that they will "uphold the principles of counterattack in self-defense and limited development of nuclear weapons", but "has never entered, and will never enter into a nuclear arms race with any country". It goes on to describe that China will never undertake a first strike, or use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state or zone.[17] US strategists, however, suggest that the Chinese position may be ambiguous, and nuclear weapons may be used both to deter conventional strikes/invasions on the Chinese mainland, or as an international political tool - limiting the extent to which other nations can coerce China politically, an inherent, often inadvertent phenomenon in international relations as regards any state with nuclear capabilities.[18]
[edit] Chemical weapons
China is not a member of the Australia Group, an informal and voluntary arrangement made in 1985 to monitor developments in the proliferation of dual-use chemicals and to coordinate export controls on key dual-use chemicals and equipment with weapons applications. In April 1997, however, China ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and, in September 1997, promulgated a new chemical weapons export control directive.
[edit] ASAT
The PLA has started the development of an anti-ballistic and anti-satellite system in the 1960s, code named Project 640, including ground based lasers, and anti-satellite missiles. On 11 January 2007 China conducted a successful test of an anti-satellite missile, with an SC-19 class KKV.[19]
[edit] Space-based system
The PLA has deployed a number of space-based systems for military purposes, including the imagery intelligence satellite systems like the ZiYan series,[20] and the militarily designated JianBing series, synthetic aperture satellites (SAR) such as JianBing-5, BeiDou satellite navigation network, and secured communication satellites with FENGHUO-1.[21]
[edit] Manned spaceflight
The PLA is responsible for the Chinese space program. To date, all the participants have been selected from members of the PLA Air Force. China became the third country in the world to have sent a man into space by its own means with the flight of Yang Liwei aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft on 15 October 2003 and the flight of Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng aboard Shenzhou 6 on 12 October 2005 and Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng aboard Shenzhou 7 on 25 September 2008.
[edit] Missile technology control regime
While not formally joining the regime, in March 1992, China undertook to abide by the guidelines and parameters of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the multinational effort to restrict the proliferation of missiles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. China reaffirmed this commitment in 1994 and pledged not to transfer MTCR-class ground-to-ground missiles. In November 2000, China committed to not assist in any way the development by other countries of MTCR-class missiles. Letter of A Q Khan (Pakistani Scientist) has revealed of violations by sharing missile and nuclear technology with Pakistan's whose long range missile ghauri is similar to that of China's Missiles.[22]
[edit] Cruise missiles
The CJ-10, one of China's newer long-range land attack cruise missiles, made its first public appearance during the military parade on the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China; the DH-10, CJ-10, and other missiles represents the next generation in missile technology in the PLA and the drive towards modernizing the capability of the PLA.
[edit] Lasers
China has been reported to have engaged in laser weapons research, but there have been no reliable sources of information regarding the state, or nature of these weapons systems. Speculation from some sources have suggested incredibly varied programs of development, such as anti-missile, anti-personnel, and anti-satellite applications.[23] China may be able to blind and disable satellites with ground-based lasers.[24]
[edit] Land mines
China's attitude towards limiting the use of land mines is still unclear. However, it has stopped production as of 2003, due to its China's peaceful rise policy.
Pakistan ::::
The Pakistan Army (Urdu: پاک فوج is the branch of the Pakistani Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the Pakistani military and is one of seven uniformed services.
The Pakistan Army came into existence after independence in 1947 and is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan Army is a volunteer professional fighting force.[1] The provision of conscription exists in the Pakistani constitution, but it has never been imposed. It has an active force of 550,000 personnel and 528,000 men in reserve.[2]
Since independence, the Army has been involved in four wars with neighboring India and several border skrimishes with Afghanistan. It maintained division and brigade strength presences in some of the Arab countries during the past Arab-Israeli Wars, and aided the Coalition in the first Gulf War. Other major operations undertaken by the Army include Operation Black Thunderstorm and Operation Rah-e-Nijat. Apart from conflicts, the Army has been an active participant in UN missions and played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent.
The President of Pakistan is the Commander-in-Chief and supreme commander of the Army. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), a General, is a four star commander and commands the Army. There is never more than one serving general at any given time in the Army. Only one officer have been conferred the rank of Field Marshal, a 5-star rank and the officer serves as the ceremonial chief
Command Structure
The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), formerly called the Commander in Chief (C in C), is charged with the responsibility of commanding the Pakistan Army. The COAS operates from army headquarters in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. The Principal Staff Officers (PSO's) assisting him in his duties at the Lieutenant General level include a Chief of General Staff (CGS), under whom the Military Operations and Intelligence Directorates function; the Chief of Logistics Staff (CLS); the Adjutant General (AG); the Quarter-Master General (QMG); the Inspector General of Training and Evaluation (IGT&E); and the Military Secretary (MS). A major reorganization in GHQ was done in September 2008 under General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, when two new PSO positions were introduced: the Inspector General Arms and the Inspector General Communications and IT, thus raising the number of PSO's to eight.[15].
The headquarters function also includes the Judge Advocate General (JAG), and the Comptroller of Civilian Personnel, the Chief of the Corps of Engineers (E-in-C) who is also head of Military Engineering Service (MES), all of them also report to the Chief of the Army Staff.
Rank Structure
The rank structure is patterned on the British Army model. Following the British Indian Army traditions, there are three junior commissioned officer (JCO) grades between enlisted and officer rank, for those who rise by promotion from among enlisted recruits. The Junior Commissioned Officer is a continuation of the former Viceroy's Commissioned Officer rank. During the early days of the Pakistan Army, there was a large cultural gap between officers and enlisted personnel. In the early 1990s, JCOs had wide responsibilities in the day-to-day supervision of lower grades, but they were a group that may have outlived its usefulness because officers have become "more Pakistani" and less dependent on British models and because the education level of enlisted men has risen. Promotion to JCO rank, however, remains a powerful incentive for enlisted personnel; thus, if JCO ranks are ever phased out, it will likely be a slow process
Structure of Army units
The Pakistan Army is divided into two main branches, which are Arms and Services.
* Arms
o Armoured Corps
o Infantry
o Artillery
o Air Defence
o Engineers
o Signals
o Army Aviation
* Services
o Army Medical Corps
o Ordnance
o Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (EME)
o Army Supply & Transport (ASC)
Operational Commands
Pakistan Army Structure (click to enlarge)
The army operates 6 tactical commands during peace time. Each command is headed by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief with the rank of Lieutenant General. Each command is directly affiliated to the Army HQ in Rawalpindi. During times of war, the Army unifies the 6 commands into 2 Armies; Army Reserve North (ARN) and Army Reserve South (ARS).
Army Reserve North's area of responsibilities lies from the Line of Control in Kashmir up to Central Punjab and Army Reserve South's area of responsibilities is from Central Punjab to coast of the Arabian Sea in Sindh. Each Army has a Strike Corps with several holding Corps and a Reserve Corps.
Army Reserve North's Composition:
* I Corps Main Strike Corps of ARN
* IV Corps Holding Corps of ARN
* X Corps Holding Corps of ARN
* XXX Corps Holding Corps of ARN
* Gilgit-Baltistan Corps Holding Corps of ARN
* XI Corps Reserve Corps of ARN
Army Reserve South's Composition:
* II Corps Main Strike Corps of ARS
* XII Corps Holding Corps of ARS
* XXXI Corps Holding Corps of ARS
* V Corps Reserve Corps of ARS
Corps
A corps is an army field formation responsible for a zone within a command theatre. There are three types of corps in the Pakistani Army: Strike, Holding and Mixed. A command generally consists of two or more corps. A corps has Army divisions under its command. The Corps HQ is the highest field formation in the army.
There are 11 Corps including the newly formed Army Strategic Forces Command, Gilgit-Baltistan Corps and Army Air Defence Command located at various garrisons all over Pakistan.[16]
The peace time commands are given below in their correct order of raising, location (city) and their commanders.
Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg Headquarters, Pakistani Army, Rawalpindi, Punjab
* Punjab Strike Corps Command, headquartered at Rawalpindi, Punjab
o 25px I Corps headquartered at Mangla
+ 6th Armored Division headquartered at Kharian
+ 17th Infantry Division headquartered at Kharian
+ 37th Infantry Division headquartered at Gujranwala
+ 11th Independent Armored Brigade
+ Independent Anti-Tank Brigade
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
+ Independent Infantry Brigade
o 25px II Corps headquartered at Multan
+ 1st Armored Division headquartered at Multan
+ 14th Infantry Division headquartered at Okara
+ 40th Infantry Division headquartered at Okara
+ Independent Armored Brigade
+ Independent Anti-Tank Brigade
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
+ Independent Infantry Brigade
* Punjab Holding Corps Command, headquartered at Lahore, Punjab
o 25px IV Corps headquartered at Lahore
+ 10th Infantry Division headquartered at Lahore
+ 11th Infantry Division headquartered at Lahore
+ 3rd Independent Armored Brigade
+ 212th Infantry Brigade
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
o 25px XXX Corps headquartered at Gujranwala
+ 2nd Artillery Division headquartered at Gujranwala
+ 8th Infantry Division headquartered at Sialkot
+ 15th Infantry Division headquartered at Sialkot
+ 2nd Independent Armored Brigade
+ Independent Anti-Tank Brigade
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
o XXXI Corps headquartered at Bahawalpur
+ 26th Mechanized Division headquartered at Bahawalpur
+ 35th Infantry Division headquartered at Bahawalpur
+ 13th Independent Armored Brigade
+ 101st Independent Infantry Brigade
* Sindh Command, headquartered at Karachi, Sindh
o 25px V Corps headquartered at Karachi
*
o
+ 16th Infantry Division headquartered at Pano Aqil
+ 18th Infantry Division headquartered at Hyderabad
+ 25th Mechanized Division headquartered at Malir
+ 31st Mechanized Brigade headquartered at Hyderabad
+ 2nd Armored Brigade headquartered at Hyderabad
+ Independent Armored Brigade
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
* Kashmir Command, headquartered at Rawalpindi, Punjab
o 25px X Corps headquartered at Rawalpindi1
+ 12th Infantry Division headquartered at Murree
+ 19th Infantry Division headquartered at Jhelum
+ 23rd Infantry Division headquartered at Mangla
+ 111th Infantry Brigade headquartered at Rawalpindi2
+ 8th Armored Brigade headquartered at Kharian
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
o Gilgit-Baltistan Corps headquartered at Gilgit3
+ 80th Infantry Brigade headquartered at Astor
+ 150th Infantry Brigade headquartered at Gilgit
+ 323rd Siachen Infantry Brigade headquartered at Dansam4
+ 61st Infantry Brigade
+ 62nd Infantry Brigade headquartered at Skardu
* Western Command, headquartered at Quetta, Balochistan
o 25px XI Corps headquartered at Peshawar5
+ 7th Infantry Division headquartered at Peshawar
+ 9th Infantry Division headquartered at Kohat
+ Independent Armored Brigade headquartered at Nowshera
o XII Corps headquartered at Quetta
+ 33rd Infantry Division headquartered at Quetta
+ 41st Infantry Division headquartered at Quetta
+ Independent Infantry Brigade headquartered at Turbat
+ Independent Armored Brigade headquartered at Khuzdar
* Strategic Command, headquartered at Rawalpindi, Punjab6
o Strategic Corps headquartered at Rawalpindi
+ Infantry Division7
+ Infantry Division8
+ 47th Artillery Brigade headquartered at Sargodha
o Army Air Defence Command headquartered at Rawalpindi, Punjab
+ 3rd Air Defence Division headquartered at Sargodha
+ 4th Air Defence Division headquartered at Malir
* 1 The X Corps is the largest and most powerful Corps in Pakistan's Order of Battle.
* 2 The 111th Infantry Brigade has been used by the Army to launch coup and take over government institutions. The last time it was used was in 1999 when Pervez Musharraf deposed Nawaz Sharif.
* 3 Gilgit-Baltistan Corps was formed in 2000 from units who were heavily damaged during the Kargil War. It was formerly known as Northern Areas Corps.
* 4 Siachen Infantry Brigade is permanently deployed on the Siachen Glacier known as the world's highest battlefield.
* 5 XI Corps has been heavily engaged in fighting the Taliban and other extremists along the Pakistan's border areas.
* 6 Strategic Command was created in 1999 for Pakistan's Nuclear Forces. Its task is to guard, deploy and use Pakistan's nuclear weapons.
* 7 One of two Pakistan's infantry divisions deployed with the Strategic Command. Its task is to safeguard Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons. The exact designation, location, composition, and size is classified.
* 8 The second of the two Pakistan's infantry divisions deployed with the Strategic Command. Its task is to safeguard Pakistan's delivery mechanism for its nuclear weapons. The exact designation, location, composition, and size is classified.
Other Field Formations
* Division: An Army Division is an intermediate between a Corps and a Brigade. It is the largest striking force in the army. Each Division is headed by [General Officer Commanding] (GOC) in the rank of Major General. It usually consists of 15,000 combat troops and 8,000 support elements. Currently, the Pakistani Army has 29 Divisions including 20 Infantry Divisions, 2 Armoured Divisions, 2 Mechanized Divisions, 2 Air Defence Divisions, 2 Strategic Divisions and 1 Artillery Division. Each Division composes of several Brigades.
* Brigade: A Brigade generally consists of around 3,000 combat troops with supporting elements. An Infantry Brigade usually has 3 Infantry Battalions along with various Support Arms & Services. It is headed by a Brigadier, equivalent to a Brigadier General in some armies. In addition to the Brigades in various Army Divisions, the Pakistani Army also has 7 Independent Armoured Brigades, 5 Independent Artillery Brigades, 3 Independent Infantry Brigades, 2 Anti-Tank Brigades. These Independent Brigades operate directly under the Corps Commander (GOC Corps).
* Battalion: A Battalion is commanded by a Colonel and is the Infantry's main fighting unit. It consists of more than 900 combat personnel.
* Company: Headed by the Major, a Company comprises 120 soldiers.
* Platoon: An intermediate between a Company and Section, a Platoon is headed by a Lieutenant or depending on the availability of Commissioned Officers, a Junior Commissioned Officer, with the rank of Subedar or Naib-Subedar. It has a total strength of about 32 troops.
* Section: Smallest military outfit with a strength of 10 personnel. Commanded by a Non-commissioned officer of the rank of Havildar Major or Sergeant Major.
Regiments
There are several battalions or units associated together in an infantry regiment. The infantry regiment in the Pakistani Army is a military organisation and not a field formation. All the battalions of a regiment do not fight together as one formation, but are dispersed over various formations, viz. brigades, divisions and corps. An infantry battalions serves for a period of time under a formation and then moves to another, usually in another sector or terrain when its tenure is over. Occasionally, battalions of the same regiment may serve together for a tenure.
Most of the infantry regiments of the Pakistani Army originate from the old British Indian Army and recruit troops from a region or of specific ethnicities.
The list of regiments of the Pakistani Army are:
* Infantry
o Frontier Force (FF)1
o Punjab2
o Sindh3
o Baloch4
o Azad Kashmir (AK)5
o Northern Light Infantry (NLI)6
* Armored
o 4th Cavalry
o 5th Horse (descendant of 5th King Edward's Own Probyn's Horse)
o 6th Lancers (descendant of 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse))
o 7th Lancers
o 8th Cavalry
o 9th Lancers
o Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force)
o 11th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
*
o 12th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
o 13th Lancers (Baloch Regiment)
o 14th Lancers
o 15th Lancers
o 19th Lancers (descendant of 19th King George's Own Lancers)
o 20th Lancers
o 22nd Cavalry
o 23rd Cavalry (Frontier Force)
o 24th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
o 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
o 26th Cavalry
o 27th Cavalry
o 28th Cavalry
o 29th Cavalry
o 30th Cavalry
o 31st Cavalry
o 32nd Cavalry
o 33rd Cavalry
*
o 34th Lancers
o 37th Cavalry
o 38th Cavalry
o 40th Horse
o 41st Horse (Frontier Force)
o 42nd Lancers
o 51st Lancers
o 52nd Cavalry
o 53rd Cavalry
o 52nd Cavalry
o 53rd Cavalry
o 54th Cavalry
o 55th Cavalry
o 56th Cavalry
o 57th Cavalry
o 58th Cavalry
* Other
o The President's Bodyguard
Pakistan's Honor Guards at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad
* 1The Frontier Force Regiment is the successor to the Frontier Brigade raised in 1846
* 2The Punjab Regiment formed in 1956 from the 1st, 14th, 15th and 16th Punjab Regiments; can be traced back to the 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys raised in 1759
* 3The Sindh Regiment was raised in 1980 from battalions of the Punjab Regiment and Baloch Regiment
* 4The Baloch Regiment formed in 1956 from the 8th Punjab Regiment, The Baloch Regiment, and The Bahawalpur Regiment; can be traced back to the 3rd Extra Madras Battalion raised in 1798. The Special Service Group was formed in 1959 around a cadre from the Baloch Regiment
* 5The Azad Kashmir Regiment was raised in 1947, became part of the army in 1971
* 6The Northern Light Infantry was formed in 1977 from various paramilitary units of scouts, became part of the army in 1999 after the Kargil War
Special forces
Main article: Special Service Group
Special Service Group (SSG) is an independent commando division of the Pakistan Army. It is an elite special operations force similar to the United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and the British Army's SAS.
Official numbers are put at 2,100 men, in 3 Battalions; however the actual strength is classified.[17] It is estimated to have been increased to 4 Battalions, with the eventual formation of 2 Brigades of Special Forces (6 Battalions).
Political and Economic
The Pakistan Army has always played an integral part of the Pakistan government since its inception mainly on the pretext of lack of good civilian leadership corruption and inefficieny.[20] It has virtually acted as a third party that has repeatedly seized power in the name of stabilizing Pakistan and ending corruption. However, according to the political observers, political instability, lawlessness and corruption are direct consequences of army rule.[21][22]
The tradition of insubordination of the army towards the legitimate leadership of the country can be traced back to Lt. Gen Frank Messervy who had resisted obeying the orders of Pakistans founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This was described as the main reason for his early retirement. However it did not prevent him being honored and promoted to general. Later General Douglas Gracey, the C in C of the Pakistan Army did not send troops to the Kashmir front and refused to obey the order to do so given by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Governor-General of Pakistan .[23]. Gracey argued that Jinnah as Governor-General represented the British Crown of which he himself was an appointee. The same tradition was continued by their successors, Ayub Khan, Zia and Musharraf, all of whom received honours instead of being tried for indiscipline and insubordination.
The army runs the largest real estate business in Pakistan under the auspices of Defense Housing Societies and other welfare societies. However out 46 housing schemes directly built by the armed forces, none is for ordinary soldiers or civilian officers and personnel employed by the army.[24].
Relief operations
Pakistani Soldiers carry tents away from a U.S. CH-47 Chinook helicopter October 19, 2005
In times of natural disaster, such as the great floods of 1992 or the October 2005 devastating earthquake, army engineers, medical and logistics personnel, and the armed forces played a major role in bringing relief and supplies.
The army also engaged in extensive corporate activities. Most of these enterprises, such as stud and dairy farms, were for the army's own use, but others performed functions in local civilian economy such as bakeries, security services and banking. Army factories produced such goods as sugar, fertilizer, and brass castings and sold them to civilian consumers albiet at prices higher than those charged from military personel.[25]
Several army organizations operate in the commercial sector across the country. For example, the National Logistics Cell was responsible for trucking food and other goods across the country; the Frontier Works Organization built the Karakoram Highway to China; and the Special Communication Organization maintained communications networks in remote parts of Pakistan. Pakistan Army was involved in relief activities not only in Pakistan but also in many other countries of the world, like they went for relief activities after Bangladesh was recently hit by floods. The Pak Army also went to Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka after they were hit by tsunami. Pakistan Army and Navy sent ships and helicopters to the friendly nations for the tsunami relief operation.
See also: 2009 refugee crisis in Pakistan
Personnel
Personnel training
Enlisted ranks
Most enlisted personnel used to come from rural families, and many have only rudimentary literacy skills, but with the increase in the litracy level the requirements have been raised to Matriculate level (10th Grade). Recruits are processed gradually through a paternalistically run regimental training center, taught the official language, Urdu, if necessary, and given a period of elementary education before their military training actually starts.
In the thirty-six-week training period, they develop an attachment to the regiment they will remain with through much of their careers and begin to develop a sense of being a Pakistani rather than primarily a member of a tribe or a village. Enlisted men usually serve for eighteen years, during which they participate in regular training cycles and have the opportunity to take academic courses to help them advance
is there any comparison in both nation in any field
china::
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People's Liberation Army
中国人民解放军
China Emblem PLA.svg
Emblem of the People's Liberation Army
Founded 1 August 1927
Service branches Ground Force Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg PLA Ground Force
Naval Ensign of the People's Republic of China.svg PLA Navy
Air Force Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg PLA Air Force
Second Artillery Corps
People's Armed Police
Leadership
Chairman of Central Military Commission Hu Jintao
Minister of Ministry of National Defense General Liang Guanglie
Chief of PLA General Staff General Chen Bingde
Manpower
Military age 1849 (compulsory de jure; voluntary de facto)
Conscription None
Available for
military service 654,229,201 males, age 1649 (2009 est.),
429,058,000 females, age 1649 (2009 est.)
Fit for
military service 472,294,719 males, age 1649 (2009 est.),
350,991,416 females, age 1649 (2009 est.)
Reaching military
age annually 11Million~ males (2009 est.),
10Million~ females (2009 est.)
Active personnel approximately 3,440,000[1] (ranked 1st)
Reserve personnel 1,200,000[1]
Deployed personnel Overseas: ~300 anti-pirate personel in Somalia [1]
Paramilitary: approximately 4,100,000[1]
Total: 7,540,000~ [1] (ranked 3rd)
Expenditures
Budget $80.64 billion (2010) [2] (ranked 2nd)
Percent of GDP 1,5% (2010 est.)
Industry
Domestic suppliers Norinco
Aviation Industry Corporation of China
Poly Technologies
Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation
Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation
Inner-Mongolia First Machine Group Company Limited
Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation
Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation
Shenyang Aircraft Corporation
Sichuan Lantian Helicopter Company Limited
Harbin First Machinery Building Group Ltd
Aviation Industry Corporation of China
ACAC consortium
Hongdu Aviation Industry Group
China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation
Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation
Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group
Jiangnan Shipyard
China State Shipbuilding Corporation
China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation[3]
Foreign suppliers Russia
Israel[4][5]
France
Germany
Annual imports Russia
Annual exports Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia
Related articles
History History of the PLA
Modernization of the PLA
Ranks Army
Navy
Air Force
[hide]People's Liberation Army
Traditional Chinese 中國人民解放軍
Simplified Chinese 中国人民解放军
Literal meaning China People's Liberation Army
[show]Transliterations
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn
Cantonese
- Jyutping zung1 gwok3 jan4 man4 gaai2 fong3 gwan1
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) (simplified Chinese: 人民解放军; traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍; pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn) is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 celebrated annually as "PLA Day" as the military arm of the Communist Party of China (CCP). The People's Liberation Army's insignia consists of a roundel with a red star bearing the Chinese characters for "Eight One" referring to August 1 (Chinese: 八一
, the date of the 1927 Nanchang Uprising.The PLA is the world's largest military force, with approximately 3 million members (see List of countries by number of total troops), and has the world's largest (active) standing army, with approximately 2.25 million members (see List of countries by number of active troops). The PLA comprises five main service branches consisting of the PLA Ground Force, PLA Navy (PLAN), PLA Air Force (PLAAF), Second Artillery Corps (strategic nuclear or missile force), and the PLA Reserve Force. The People's Armed Police (PAP), a Chinese paramilitary force under the dual leadership of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of Public Security, is sometimes confused as a branch of the PLA (both the PLA and the PAP are under the lead of Central Military Commission).
Military service is compulsory, in theory, for all men who attain the age of 18; women may register for duty in the medical, veterinary, and other technical services at ages as young as 14. However, a draft in China has never been enforced due to large numbers of volunteers from China's huge population. Demobilized servicemen are carried in a ready reserve, which is reinforced by a standby reserve of veterans and by the militia.
The PLA is formally under the command of the Central Military Commission of the CCP; there is also an identical commission in the government, but it has no clear independent functions. The Ministry of National Defense, which operates under the State Council, does not exercise any authority over the PLA and is far less powerful than the Central Military Commission (CMC). The ministry assures continuing CCP control over the armed forces, and its primary role is that of a liaison office with foreign militaries. The political and military leaderships has made a concerted effort to create a professional military force restricted to national defense and to the provision of assistance in domestic economic construction and emergency relief. This conception of the role of the PLA requires the promotion of specialized officers who can understand modern weaponry and handle combined arms operations. Troops around the country are stationed in seven military regions and more than 20 military districts.
Chairman Hu Jintao has defined the missions of the PLA as:
* Consolidate the ruling status of the Communist Party
* Help ensure Chinas sovereignty, territorial integrity, and domestic security in order to continue national development
* Safeguard Chinas expanding national interests
* Help maintain world peace[6]
PLA Ground Force
Main article: People's Liberation Army Ground Force
The PLA deploys the world's largest ground force, currently totaling some 1.6 million personnel, or about 70 percent of the PLA's total manpower (2.3 million). The ground forces are divided among the seven military regions as named above.
A Type 99 tank at the China People's Revolution Military Museum in Beijing
The regular forces of the ground forces consist of 18 Group Armies, which are corps-size combined arms units each with approximately 30,000-65,000 personnel. The group armies contain, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies's 2006 Military Balance, among them 9 armored divisions, 3 mechanized infantry divisions, 24 motorized infantry divisions, 15 infantry divisions, two amphibious assault divisions, one mechanized infantry brigade, 22 motorized infantry brigades, 12 armored brigades, 7 artillery divisions, 14 artillery brigades, 19 anti-aircraft artillery missile brigades, and 10 army aviation (helicopter) regiments (two training).
In times of crisis, the PLA Ground Force will be reinforced by numerous reserve and paramilitary units. The PLA reserve component has about 1.2-1.5 million personnel divided into 30 infantry, and 12 anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) divisions. In addition, approximately 1.1 million armored personnel carriers (APC). Two amphibious mechanized divisions were also created in Nanjing and Guangzhou MR. At least 40 percent of PLA divisions and brigades are now mechanized or armored, almost double the percentage before the reduction.
While much of the PLA Ground Force was being reduced over the past few years, technology-intensive elements such as special operations forces (SOF), army aviation (helicopters), surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and electronic warfare units have all been rapidly expanded. The latest operational doctrine of the PLA ground forces highlights the importance of information technology, electronic and information warfare, and long-range precision strikes in future warfare. The older generation telephone/radio-based command, control, and communications (C3) systems are being replaced by an integrated battlefield information networks featuring local/wide-area networks (LAN/WAN), satellite communications, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based surveillance and reconnaissance systems, and mobile command and control centers.[12]
The Chinese marines have extensive training in CQC (close quarters combat) and hand-to-hand combat.
[edit] PLA Navy
Sailors shown in 2009 during 60th anniversary celebrations of the PLAN.
Main article: People's Liberation Army Navy
Until the early 1990s, the navy performed a subordinate role to the PLA Land Forces. Since then it has undergone rapid modernization. The 250,000-man Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is organized into three major fleets: the North Sea Fleet headquartered at Qingdao, the East Sea Fleet headquartered at Ningbo, and the South Sea Fleet headquartered in Zhanjiang. Each fleet consists of a number of surface ship, submarine, naval air force, coastal defense, and marine units.
The navy includes 35,000 Coastal Defense Force and 56,000 Naval infantry/Marines (two multi-arm marine brigades), plus a 56,000 PLAN Aviation naval air arm operating several hundred land-based aircraft and ship-based helicopters. As part of its overall program of naval modernization, the PLAN has been developing a blue water navy. The Navy also utilises the CJ-10 naval cruise missile system, which made its first public appearance during late 2009.
[show]
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People's Republic of China Ship classes of the Chinese Navy
Submarines
Nuclear
ballistic missile
Type 096 Tang class* · Type 094 Jin class · Type 092 Xia class
Nuclear attack
Type 097 Qin class* · Type 095 class* · Type 093 Shang class · Type 091 Han class
Conventional
ballistic missile
Modified Project 629 Golf class
Conventional
attack
Type 041 Yuan class · Type 039/039A/039G Song class · Type 035 Ming class · Type 033 Romeo class ·
Project 636 Kilo II class · Project 877EKM Kilo I class
Principal
surface
combatants
Aircraft carriers
Future Chinese carrier* · Project 1143.5 Kuznetsov class* · Kiev class+
Destroyers
Type 052D destroyer* · Type 051D destroyer* · Type 052C Luyang II (Lanzhou) class · Type 052B Luyang I (Guangzhou) class · Type 052 Luhu class ·
Type 051C Luzhou class · Type 051B Luhai class ·
Type 051DT Luda IV class · Type 051G1/G2 Luda III class · Type 051 Luda II class · Type 051 Luda I class ·
Project 956EM Sovremenny II class · Project 956 Sovremenny I class
Frigates
Type 054B frigate* · Type 054A Jiangkai II class · Type 054 Jiangkai I (Ma'anshan) class ·
Type 053H3 Jiangwei II class · Type 053H2G Jiangwei I class ·
Type 053H1G Jianghu V class · Type 053HT-H Jianghu IV class · Type 053H2 Jianghu III class · Type 053H1 Jianghu II class · Type 053H Jianghu I class
Coastal
warfare
vessels
Missile boats
Type 022 Houbei class · Type 037-II Houjian class · Type 037-IG Houxin class · Type 021 Houdong class · Type 021 Huangfeng (Soviet Osa-I) class · Type 021 Hola class · China Cat (C 14) class · Type 024 Heku/Hegu/Houku/Hougu class
Torpedo boats
Type 025 Huchuan class · P4 class
Gunboats
Type 062-I Shanghai III class · Type 062 Shanghai II class · Type 062 Shanghai I class · Type 206 Huludao class · Shantou class+ · Beihai class+ · Huangpu class+ · Yulin class+
Submarine chasers
Type 037-IS Haiqing class · Type 037-I Haijiu class · Type 062-I Haizhui class · Type 037 Hainan class · Kronshtadt class
Amphibious
warfare
vessels
Landing platforms
Type 071 Yuzhao class amphibious transport dock
Landing ships
Type 072 Yukan class LST · Type072-II Yuting I class LST · Type 072-III Yuting II class LST · Type 079 Yuliang class LSM · Type 074 Yuhai (Wuhu-A) class LSM · Type 073 I/II/III class LSM · Type 073 IV Yunshu class LSM
Landing craft
Yubei class LCU · Type 722-II Jingsha II class LCAC · Type 724 LCAC · Type 271 Yupen class LCU · Type 067 Yunnan class LCU · Type 068/069 Yuch'in class LCM ·
Zubr class LCAC*
Minesweepers,
Minelayers
Type 081 Wochi class minehunter · Type 082-II Wozang class minehunter · Type 918 Wolei class minelayer · Type 010 class oceangoing minesweeper · T-43 class oceangoing minesweeper+ ·
Type 082 Wosao class minesweeper · Type 062 Fushun class coastal minesweeper+ · Type 312 Futi class minesweeper / minesweeping drone
* = Under construction or procurement
+ = Retired
Ships of the Chinese Navy · People's Liberation Army
[edit] PLA Air Force
Main article: People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), with some 250,000 personnel and 2300 Fighters and Attackers, is organized into seven Military Region Air Forces (MRAF) and 24 Air Divisions. It is the largest air force in Asia-Pacific region and the third largest in the world (after the USAF and the Russian Air Force). The largest operational units within the Aviation Corps is the air division, which has 2 to 3 aviation regiments, each with 20 to 36 aircraft. The surface-to-air missile (SAM) Corps is organized into SAM divisions and brigades. There are also three airborne divisions manned by the PLAAF.
[edit] Second Artillery Corps
Main article: Second Artillery Corps (China)
The Second Artillery Corps (SAC) is the strategic missile forces of the PLA. It controls China's nuclear and conventional strategic missiles. China's total nuclear arsenal size is estimated to be between 100 and 400 nuclear weapons. The SAC has approximately 90,000-120,000 personnel and six ballistic missile divisions (missile corps bases). The six divisions are independently deployed in different military regions and have a total of 15 to 20 missile brigades.
[edit] People's Armed Police
A People's Armed Police Squad in the Forbidden City
Main article: People's Armed Police
The PAP is the paramilitary force primarily responsible for law enforcement and internal security and is under a unique dual-leadership system of the Central Military Commission and local public security bureaus (local police departments). The PAP was formed in 1983 when the PLA transferred its internal security and border defense responsibilities to the Ministry of Public Security. In wartime, the PAP, as part of China's armed forces, would be used as light infantry, performing border defense and other support functions to assist the regular ground forces.
In general, the PLA regular forces' main purpose is national defense and has rarely been used for internal security or police functions. Most such issues in the country however are handled by the paramilitary People's Armed Police. The instances in which the PLA has been used for non-military internal security duties have included several incidents during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, Tibet in 1989, and with the Tiananmen Protests of 1989. Many times, the PLA has been involved in flood relief operations, particularly in the Yellow River region
Military intelligence
[edit] General Staff Department
The General Staff Department carries out staff and operational functions for the PLA and had major responsibility for implementing military modernization plans. Headed by the chief of general staff, the department served as the headquarters for the ground forces and contained directorates for the three other armed services: Air Force, Navy, and Strategic Missile Force. The General Staff Department included functionally organized subdepartments for artillery, armored units, engineering, operations, training, intelligence, mobilization, surveying, communications, quartermaster services, and politics.
Navy Headquarters controlled the North Sea Fleet, East Sea Fleet, and South Sea Fleet. Air Force Headquarters generally exercised control through the commanders of the seven military regions. Nuclear forces were directly subordinate to the General Staff Department. Conventional main, regional, and militia units were controlled administratively by the military region commanders, but the General Staff Department in Beijing could assume direct operational control of any main-force unit at will. Thus, broadly speaking, the General Staff Department exercises operational control of the main forces, and the military region commanders controlled the regional forces and, indirectly, the militia.
The post of principal intelligence official in the top leadership of the Chinese military has been taken up by a number of people of several generations, from Li Kenong in the 1950s to Xiong Guangkai in the late 1990s; and their public capacity has always been assistant to the deputy chief of staff or assistant to the chief of staff.
Ever since the CPC officially established the system of "major military regions" for its army in the 1950s, the intelligence agencies inside the Army have, after going through several major evolutions, developed into the present three major military intelligence setups.
* The central level is composed of the Second and Third Departments under the PLA General Staff Headquarters and the Liaison Department under the PLA General Political Department.
* At the major military regions intelligence activities consist of the Second Bureau established at the same level as the Operation Department under the Headquarters, and the Liaison Department established under the Political Department.
* The third system includes a number of communications stations directly established in the garrison areas of all the major military regions by the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters.
The Second Bureau under the Headquarters and the Liaison Department under the Political Department of major military regions are only subjected to the "professional leadership" of their "counterpart" units under the Central Military Commission and are still considered the direct subordinate units of the major military region organizationally.
Those entities whose names include the word "institute," all research institutes under the charge of the Second and the Third Departments of the PLA General Staff Headquarters, including other research organs inside the Army, are at least of the establishment size of the full regimental level.
Among the deputy commanders or deputy chiefs of staff of a major military region in China, there is always one who is assigned to take charge of intelligence work, and the intelligence agencies under his charge are directly affiliated to the headquarters and the political department of the military region.
The Conference on Strengthening Intelligence Work held from 3 September 1996 18 September 1996 at the Xishan Command Center of the Ministry of State Security and the General Staff Department. Chi Haotian delivered a report entitled "Strengthen Intelligence Work in a New International Environment To Serve the Cause of Socialist Construction." The report emphasized the need to strengthen the following four aspects of intelligence work:
* Efforts must be made to strengthen understanding of the special nature and role of intelligence work, as well as understanding of the close relationship between strengthening intelligence work on the one hand, and of the Four Modernizations of the motherland, the reunification of the motherland, and opposition to hegemony and power politics on the other.
* The United States and the West have all along been engaged in infiltration, intervention, sabotage, and intelligence gathering against China on the political, economic, military, and ideological fronts. The response must strengthen the struggle against their infiltration, intervention, sabotage, and intelligence gathering.
* Consolidating intelligence departments and training a new generation of intelligence personnel who are politically reliable, honest and upright in their ways, and capable of mastering professional skills, the art of struggle, and advanced technologies.
* Strengthening the work of organizing intelligence in two international industrial, commercial, and financial portsHong Kong and Macau.
Although the four aspects emphasized by Chi Haotian appeared to be defensive measures, they were in fact both defensive and offensive in nature.
[edit] Second Department
The Second Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters is responsible for collecting military intelligence. Activities include military attachés at Chinese embassies abroad, clandestine special agents sent to foreign countries to collect military information, and the analysis of information publicly published in foreign countries.
The Second Department oversees military human intelligence (HUMINT) collection, widely exploits open source (OSINT) materials, fuses HUMINT, signals intelligence (SIGINT), and imagery intelligence data, and disseminates finished intelligence products to the CMC and other consumers. Preliminary fusion is carried out by the Second Department's Analysis Bureau which mans the National Watch Center, the focal point for national-level indications and warning. In-depth analysis is carried out by regional bureaus.
Although traditionally the Second Department of the General Staff Department was responsible for military intelligence, it is beginning to increasingly focus on scientific and technological intelligence in the military field, following the example of Russian agencies in stepping up the work of collecting scientific and technological information.
The research institute under the Second Department of the General Staff Headquarters is publicly known as the Institute for International Strategic Studies; its internal classified publication "Foreign Military Trends" (Wai Jun Dongtai) (外军动态
is published every 10 days and transmitted to units at the division level.The PLA Institute of International Relations at Nanjing comes under the Second Department of the General Staff Department and is responsible for training military attaches, assistant military attaches and associate military attaches as well as secret agents to be posted abroad. It also supplies officers to the military intelligence sections of various military regions and group armies. The Institute was formed from the PLA "793" Foreign Language Institute, which moved from Zhangjiakou after the Cultural Revolution and split into two institutions at Luoyang and Nanjing.
The Institute of International Relations was known in the 1950s as the School for Foreign Language Cadres of the Central Military Commission, with the current name being used since 1964. The training of intelligence personnel is one of several activities at the Institute. While all graduates of the Moscow Institute of International Relations were employed by the KGB, only some graduates of the Beijing Institute of International Relations are employed by the Ministry of State Security. The former Institute of International Relations, since been renamed the Foreign Affairs College, is under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is not involved in secret intelligence work. The former Central Military Commission foreign language school had foreign faculty members who were either Communist Party sympathizers or were members of foreign communist parties. But the present Institute of International Relations does not hire foreign teachers, to avoid the danger that its students might be recognized when sent abroad as clandestine agents.
Those engaged in professional work in military academies under the Second Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters usually have a chance to go abroad, either for advanced studies or as military officers working in the military attache's office of Chinese embassies in foreign countries. People working in the military attache's office of embassies are usually engaged in collecting military information under the cover of "military diplomacy". As long as they refrain from directly subversive activities, they are considered as well-behaved "military diplomats."
Some bureaus under the Second Department which are responsible for espionage in different regions, of which the First Bureau is responsible for collecting information in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Agents are dispatched by the Second Department to companies and other local corporations to gain cover.
The "Autumn Orchid" intelligence group assigned to Hong Kong and Macau in the mid-1980s mostly operated in the mass media, political, industrial, commercial, and religious circles, as well as in universities and colleges. The "Autumn Orchid" intelligence group was mainly responsible for the following three tasks:
* Finding out and keeping abreast of the political leanings of officials of the Hong Kong and Macau governments, as well as their views on major issues, through social contact with them and through information provided by them.
* Keeping abreast of the developments of foreign governments' political organs in Hong Kong, as well as of foreign financial, industrial, and commercial organizations.
* Finding out and having a good grasp of the local media's sources of information on political, military, economic, and other developments on the mainland, and deliberately releasing false political or military information to the media to test the outside response.
The "Autumn Orchid" intelligence group was awarded a Citation for Merit, Second Class, in December 1994. It was further awarded another Citation for Merit, Second Class, in 1997. Its current status is not publicly known. During the 2008 Chinese New Year celebration CCTV held for Chinese diplomatic establishments, the head of the Second Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters was revealed for the first time to the public: the current head was Major General Yang Hui (杨晖
, the former deputy head of the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters (he was a senior colonel when he held that position).[edit] Third Department
The Third Department of the General Staff Headquarters is responsible for monitoring the telecommunications of foreign armies and producing finished intelligence based on the military information collected.
The communications stations established by the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters are not subject to the jurisdiction of the provincial military district and the major military region of where they are based. The communications stations are entirely the agencies of the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters which have no affiliations to the provincial military district and the military region of where they are based. The personnel composition, budgets, and establishment of these communications stations are entirely under the jurisdiction of the Third Department of the General PLA General Staff Headquarters, and are not related at all with local troops.
China maintains the most extensive SIGINT network of all the countries in the Asia-Pacific region. As of the late 1990s, SIGINT systems included several dozen ground stations, half a dozen ships, truck-mounted systems, and airborne systems. Third Department headquarters is located in the vicinity of the GSD First Department (Operations Department), AMS, and NDU complex in the hills northwest of the Summer Palace. As of the late 1990s, the Third Department was allegedly manned by approximately 20,000 personnel, with most of their linguists trained at the Luoyang Institute of Foreign Languages.
Ever since the 1950s, the Second and Third Departments of the PLA General Staff Headquarters have established a number of institutions of secondary and higher learning for bringing up "special talents." The PLA Foreign Language Institute at Luoyang comes under the Third Department of the General Staff Department and is responsible for training foreign language officers for the monitoring of foreign military intelligence. The Institute was formed from the PLA "793" Foreign Language Institute, which moved from Zhangjiakou after the Cultural Revolution and split into two institutions at Luoyang and Nanjing.
Though the distribution order they received upon graduation indicated the "PLA General Staff Headquarters," many of the graduates of these schools found themselves being sent to all parts of the country, including remote and uninhabited backward mountain areas. The reason is that the monitoring and control stations under the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters are scattered in every corner of the country.
The communications stations located in the Shenzhen base of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison started their work long ago. In normal times, these two communications stations report directly to the Central Military Commission and the PLA General Staff Headquarters. Units responsible for coordination are the communications stations established in the garrison provinces of the military regions by the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters.
By taking direct command of military communications stations based in all parts of the country, the CPC Central Military Commission and the PLA General Staff Headquarters can not only ensure a successful interception of enemy radio communications, but can also make sure that none of the wire or wireless communications and contacts among major military regions can escape the detection of these communications stations, thus effectively attaining the goal of imposing a direct supervision and control over all major military regions, all provincial military districts, and all group armies.
[edit] Monitoring stations
China's main SIGINT effort is in the Third Department of the General Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, with additional capabilities, primarily domestic, in the Ministry of State Security (MSS). SIGINT stations, therefore, are scattered through the country, for domestic as well as international interception. Prof. Desmond Ball, of the Australian National University, described the largest stations as the main Technical Department SIGINT net control station on the northwest outskirts of Beijing, and the large complex near Lake Kinghathu in the extreme northeast corner of China
As opposed to other major powers, China focuses its SIGINT activities on its region rather than the world. Ball wrote, in the eighties, that China had several dozen SIGINT stations aimed at Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and India, as well as internally.
Of the stations apparently targeting Russia, there are sites at Jilemutu and Jixi in the northeast, and at Erlian and Hami near the Mongolian border. Two Russian-facing sites in Xinjiang, at Qitai and Korla may be operated jointly with resources from the US CIA's Office of SIGINT Opeations, probably focused on missile and space activity.
Other stations aimed at South and Southeast Asia are on a net controlled by Chengdu, Sichuan. There is a large facility at Dayi, and, according to Ball, "numerous" small posts along the Indian border.
Other significant facilities are located near Shenyang, near Jinan and in Nanjing and Shanghai. Additional stations are in the Fujian and Guangdong military districts opposite Taiwan.
On Hainan Island, near Vietnam, there is a naval SIGINT facility that monitors the South China sea, and a ground station targeting US and Russian satellites. China also has ship and aircraft platforms in this area, under the South Sea Fleet headquarters at Zhanjiang immediately north of the island. Targeting here seems to have an ELINT as well as COMINT flavor.
There are also truck-mounted mobile ground systems, as well as ship, aircraft, and limited satellite capability. There are at least 10 intelligence-gathering auxiliary vessels.
As of the late nineties, the Chinese did not appear to be trying to monitor the US Pacific Command to the same extent as does Russia. In future, this had depended, in part, on the status of Taiwan.
[edit] Fourth Department
The Fourth Department (ECM and Radar) of the General Staff Headquarters Department has the electronic intelligence (ELINT) portfolio within the PLA's SIGINT apparatus. This department is responsible for electronic countermeasures, requiring them to collect and maintain data bases on electronic signals. 25 ELINT receivers are the responsibility of the Southwest Institute of Electronic Equipment (SWIEE). Among the wide range of SWIEE ELINT products is a new KZ900 airborne ELINT pod. The GSD 54th Research Institute supports the ECM Department in development of digital ELINT signal processors to analyze parameters of radar pulses.
[edit] Liaison Department
The PLA General Political Department (GPD) maintains the CPC structure that exists at every level of the PLA. It is responsible for overseeing the political education, indoctrination and discipline that is a prerequisite for advancement within the PLA. The GPD controls the internal prison system of the PLA.
The International Liaison Department of the General Political Department is publicly known as the "China Association for International Friendly Contacts". The department prepares political and economic information for the reference of the Political Bureau. The department conducts ideological and political work on foreign armies, explaining China's policies, and disintegrate enemy armies by dampening their morale. It is also tasked with instigating rebellions and disloyalty within the Taiwan military and other foreign militaries.
The Liaison Office has dispatched agents to infiltrate Chinese-funded companies and private institutions in Hong Kong. Their mission is counter-espionage, monitoring their own agents, and preventing and detecting foreign intelligence services buying off Chinese personnel.
[edit] Special Forces
China's counterterrorist unit is drawn from the police force rather than the military. The name changes frequently, but as of this writing, it is known as the Immediate Action Unit (IAU). The Chinese Army fields large number of special operations groups and would appear to have a vast pool of manpower to choose from. However, it is believed that any significant terrorist activity within Chinese borders would draw the attention of the IAU.
China has reportedly developed a force capable of carrying out long-range air-borne operations, long-range reconnaissance, and amphibious operations. Formed in China's Guangzhou military region and known by the nickname "Sword of Southern China", the force supposedly receives army, air force and naval training, including flight training, and is equipped with "hundreds of high-tech devices", including global-positioning satellite systems. All of the force's officers have completed military staff colleges, and 60 percent are said to have university degrees. Soldiers are reported to be cross-trained in various specialties, and training is supposed to encompass a range of operational environments. It is far from clear whether this unit is considered operational by the Chinese. It is also not clear how such a force would be employed. Among the missions mentioned were "responding to contingencies in various regions" and "cooperating with other services in attacks on islands". According to the limited reporting, the organization appears to be in a phase of testing and development and may constitute an experimental unit. While no size for the force has been revealed, there have been Chinese media claims that "over 4000 soldiers of the fore are all-weather and versatile fighters and parachutists who can fly airplanes and drive auto vehicles and motor boats".[citation needed]
Land-based weapons
The PLA's tank inventory was numbered around 10,000 during its peak time in the 1980s and 1990s, but this is estimated to have been reduced to 7,000, operating in 11 armored brigades.[16] The Chinese-produced versions of the Soviet T-54A (Type 59 and Type 69) account for over two-thirds of the total PLA tank inventory. While retiring some of the older Type 59/69 series and replacing them with the second generation Type 88 and Type 96, the PLA is also upgrading the remaining Type 59/69 series tanks with new technologies including improved communication and fire-control systems, night vision equipment, explosive reactive armor, improved powerplant, and gun-fired anti-tank missiles so that they can remain in service as mobile fire-support platforms. The newest tank is the Type 99, which entered PLA service in 2001.
The PLA also operates about 2,000 light tanks including the Type 62 light tank and the Type 63 amphibious tank, both of which entered production in the 1960s. The Type 63 has now been upgraded with the addition of the improved Type 63A featuring computerized fire-control, gun-fired anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), night vision equipment, satellite navigation, and improved powerplant.
[edit] Nuclear weapons
In 1955, China decided to proceed with a nuclear weapons program. The decision was made after the United States threatened the use of nuclear weapons against China should it take action against Quemoy and Matsu, coupled with the lack of interest of the Soviet Union for using its nuclear weapons in defense of China.
After their first nuclear test (China claims minimal Soviet assistance before 1960) on 16 October 1964, China was the first state to pledge no-first-use of nuclear weapons. On 1 July 1966, the Second Artillery Corps (as named by Premier Zhou Enlai) was formed. In 1967, China tested a fully-functional hydrogen bomb, only 32 months after China had made its first fission device. China thus produced the shortest fission-to-fusion development known in history.
China became a major international arms exporter during the 1980s. Beijing joined the Middle East arms control talks, which began in July 1991 to establish global guidelines for conventional arms transfers, and later announced that it would no longer participate because of the U.S. decision to sell 150 F-16A/B aircraft to Taiwan on 2 September 1992.
It joined the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1984 and pledged to abstain from further atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in 1986. China acceded to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1992 and supported its indefinite and unconditional extension in 1995. In 1996, it signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and agreed to seek an international ban on the production of fissile nuclear weapons material.
In 1996, China committed to provide assistance to unsafeguarded nuclear facilities. China attended the May 1997 meeting of the NPT Exporters (Zangger) Committee as an observer and became a full member in October 1997. The Zangger Committee is a group which meets to list items that should be subject to IAEA inspections if exported by countries, which have, as China has, signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. In September 1997, China issued detailed nuclear export control regulations. China began implementing regulations establishing controls over nuclear-related dual-use items in 1998. China also has decided not to engage in new nuclear cooperation with Iran (even under safeguards), and will complete existing cooperation, which is not of proliferation concern, within a relatively short period. Based on significant, tangible progress with China on nuclear nonproliferation, President Clinton in 1998 took steps to bring into force the 1985 U.S.China Agreement on Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation.
Beijing has deployed a modest ballistic missile force, including land and sea-based intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). It is estimated that China has about 100-160 liquid fueled ICBMs capable of striking the United States with approximately 100150 IRBMs able to strike Russia or Eastern Europe. China also possesses several hundred tactical SRBMs with ranges between 300 and 600 km.[17]
China's nuclear program follows a doctrine of minimal deterrence, which involves having the minimum force needed to deter an aggressor from launching a first strike. The current efforts of China appear to be aimed at maintaining a survivable nuclear force by, for example, using solid-fueled ICBMs in silos rather than liquid-fueled missiles. China's 2006 published deterrence policy claims that they will "uphold the principles of counterattack in self-defense and limited development of nuclear weapons", but "has never entered, and will never enter into a nuclear arms race with any country". It goes on to describe that China will never undertake a first strike, or use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state or zone.[17] US strategists, however, suggest that the Chinese position may be ambiguous, and nuclear weapons may be used both to deter conventional strikes/invasions on the Chinese mainland, or as an international political tool - limiting the extent to which other nations can coerce China politically, an inherent, often inadvertent phenomenon in international relations as regards any state with nuclear capabilities.[18]
[edit] Chemical weapons
China is not a member of the Australia Group, an informal and voluntary arrangement made in 1985 to monitor developments in the proliferation of dual-use chemicals and to coordinate export controls on key dual-use chemicals and equipment with weapons applications. In April 1997, however, China ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and, in September 1997, promulgated a new chemical weapons export control directive.
[edit] ASAT
The PLA has started the development of an anti-ballistic and anti-satellite system in the 1960s, code named Project 640, including ground based lasers, and anti-satellite missiles. On 11 January 2007 China conducted a successful test of an anti-satellite missile, with an SC-19 class KKV.[19]
[edit] Space-based system
The PLA has deployed a number of space-based systems for military purposes, including the imagery intelligence satellite systems like the ZiYan series,[20] and the militarily designated JianBing series, synthetic aperture satellites (SAR) such as JianBing-5, BeiDou satellite navigation network, and secured communication satellites with FENGHUO-1.[21]
[edit] Manned spaceflight
The PLA is responsible for the Chinese space program. To date, all the participants have been selected from members of the PLA Air Force. China became the third country in the world to have sent a man into space by its own means with the flight of Yang Liwei aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft on 15 October 2003 and the flight of Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng aboard Shenzhou 6 on 12 October 2005 and Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng aboard Shenzhou 7 on 25 September 2008.
[edit] Missile technology control regime
While not formally joining the regime, in March 1992, China undertook to abide by the guidelines and parameters of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the multinational effort to restrict the proliferation of missiles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. China reaffirmed this commitment in 1994 and pledged not to transfer MTCR-class ground-to-ground missiles. In November 2000, China committed to not assist in any way the development by other countries of MTCR-class missiles. Letter of A Q Khan (Pakistani Scientist) has revealed of violations by sharing missile and nuclear technology with Pakistan's whose long range missile ghauri is similar to that of China's Missiles.[22]
[edit] Cruise missiles
The CJ-10, one of China's newer long-range land attack cruise missiles, made its first public appearance during the military parade on the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China; the DH-10, CJ-10, and other missiles represents the next generation in missile technology in the PLA and the drive towards modernizing the capability of the PLA.
[edit] Lasers
China has been reported to have engaged in laser weapons research, but there have been no reliable sources of information regarding the state, or nature of these weapons systems. Speculation from some sources have suggested incredibly varied programs of development, such as anti-missile, anti-personnel, and anti-satellite applications.[23] China may be able to blind and disable satellites with ground-based lasers.[24]
[edit] Land mines
China's attitude towards limiting the use of land mines is still unclear. However, it has stopped production as of 2003, due to its China's peaceful rise policy.
Pakistan ::::
The Pakistan Army (Urdu: پاک فوج
is the branch of the Pakistani Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the Pakistani military and is one of seven uniformed services.The Pakistan Army came into existence after independence in 1947 and is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan Army is a volunteer professional fighting force.[1] The provision of conscription exists in the Pakistani constitution, but it has never been imposed. It has an active force of 550,000 personnel and 528,000 men in reserve.[2]
Since independence, the Army has been involved in four wars with neighboring India and several border skrimishes with Afghanistan. It maintained division and brigade strength presences in some of the Arab countries during the past Arab-Israeli Wars, and aided the Coalition in the first Gulf War. Other major operations undertaken by the Army include Operation Black Thunderstorm and Operation Rah-e-Nijat. Apart from conflicts, the Army has been an active participant in UN missions and played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent.
The President of Pakistan is the Commander-in-Chief and supreme commander of the Army. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), a General, is a four star commander and commands the Army. There is never more than one serving general at any given time in the Army. Only one officer have been conferred the rank of Field Marshal, a 5-star rank and the officer serves as the ceremonial chief
Command Structure
The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), formerly called the Commander in Chief (C in C), is charged with the responsibility of commanding the Pakistan Army. The COAS operates from army headquarters in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. The Principal Staff Officers (PSO's) assisting him in his duties at the Lieutenant General level include a Chief of General Staff (CGS), under whom the Military Operations and Intelligence Directorates function; the Chief of Logistics Staff (CLS); the Adjutant General (AG); the Quarter-Master General (QMG); the Inspector General of Training and Evaluation (IGT&E); and the Military Secretary (MS). A major reorganization in GHQ was done in September 2008 under General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, when two new PSO positions were introduced: the Inspector General Arms and the Inspector General Communications and IT, thus raising the number of PSO's to eight.[15].
The headquarters function also includes the Judge Advocate General (JAG), and the Comptroller of Civilian Personnel, the Chief of the Corps of Engineers (E-in-C) who is also head of Military Engineering Service (MES), all of them also report to the Chief of the Army Staff.
Rank Structure
The rank structure is patterned on the British Army model. Following the British Indian Army traditions, there are three junior commissioned officer (JCO) grades between enlisted and officer rank, for those who rise by promotion from among enlisted recruits. The Junior Commissioned Officer is a continuation of the former Viceroy's Commissioned Officer rank. During the early days of the Pakistan Army, there was a large cultural gap between officers and enlisted personnel. In the early 1990s, JCOs had wide responsibilities in the day-to-day supervision of lower grades, but they were a group that may have outlived its usefulness because officers have become "more Pakistani" and less dependent on British models and because the education level of enlisted men has risen. Promotion to JCO rank, however, remains a powerful incentive for enlisted personnel; thus, if JCO ranks are ever phased out, it will likely be a slow process
Structure of Army units
The Pakistan Army is divided into two main branches, which are Arms and Services.
* Arms
o Armoured Corps
o Infantry
o Artillery
o Air Defence
o Engineers
o Signals
o Army Aviation
* Services
o Army Medical Corps
o Ordnance
o Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (EME)
o Army Supply & Transport (ASC)
Operational Commands
Pakistan Army Structure (click to enlarge)
The army operates 6 tactical commands during peace time. Each command is headed by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief with the rank of Lieutenant General. Each command is directly affiliated to the Army HQ in Rawalpindi. During times of war, the Army unifies the 6 commands into 2 Armies; Army Reserve North (ARN) and Army Reserve South (ARS).
Army Reserve North's area of responsibilities lies from the Line of Control in Kashmir up to Central Punjab and Army Reserve South's area of responsibilities is from Central Punjab to coast of the Arabian Sea in Sindh. Each Army has a Strike Corps with several holding Corps and a Reserve Corps.
Army Reserve North's Composition:
* I Corps Main Strike Corps of ARN
* IV Corps Holding Corps of ARN
* X Corps Holding Corps of ARN
* XXX Corps Holding Corps of ARN
* Gilgit-Baltistan Corps Holding Corps of ARN
* XI Corps Reserve Corps of ARN
Army Reserve South's Composition:
* II Corps Main Strike Corps of ARS
* XII Corps Holding Corps of ARS
* XXXI Corps Holding Corps of ARS
* V Corps Reserve Corps of ARS
Corps
A corps is an army field formation responsible for a zone within a command theatre. There are three types of corps in the Pakistani Army: Strike, Holding and Mixed. A command generally consists of two or more corps. A corps has Army divisions under its command. The Corps HQ is the highest field formation in the army.
There are 11 Corps including the newly formed Army Strategic Forces Command, Gilgit-Baltistan Corps and Army Air Defence Command located at various garrisons all over Pakistan.[16]
The peace time commands are given below in their correct order of raising, location (city) and their commanders.
Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg Headquarters, Pakistani Army, Rawalpindi, Punjab
* Punjab Strike Corps Command, headquartered at Rawalpindi, Punjab
o 25px I Corps headquartered at Mangla
+ 6th Armored Division headquartered at Kharian
+ 17th Infantry Division headquartered at Kharian
+ 37th Infantry Division headquartered at Gujranwala
+ 11th Independent Armored Brigade
+ Independent Anti-Tank Brigade
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
+ Independent Infantry Brigade
o 25px II Corps headquartered at Multan
+ 1st Armored Division headquartered at Multan
+ 14th Infantry Division headquartered at Okara
+ 40th Infantry Division headquartered at Okara
+ Independent Armored Brigade
+ Independent Anti-Tank Brigade
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
+ Independent Infantry Brigade
* Punjab Holding Corps Command, headquartered at Lahore, Punjab
o 25px IV Corps headquartered at Lahore
+ 10th Infantry Division headquartered at Lahore
+ 11th Infantry Division headquartered at Lahore
+ 3rd Independent Armored Brigade
+ 212th Infantry Brigade
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
o 25px XXX Corps headquartered at Gujranwala
+ 2nd Artillery Division headquartered at Gujranwala
+ 8th Infantry Division headquartered at Sialkot
+ 15th Infantry Division headquartered at Sialkot
+ 2nd Independent Armored Brigade
+ Independent Anti-Tank Brigade
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
o XXXI Corps headquartered at Bahawalpur
+ 26th Mechanized Division headquartered at Bahawalpur
+ 35th Infantry Division headquartered at Bahawalpur
+ 13th Independent Armored Brigade
+ 101st Independent Infantry Brigade
* Sindh Command, headquartered at Karachi, Sindh
o 25px V Corps headquartered at Karachi
*
o
+ 16th Infantry Division headquartered at Pano Aqil
+ 18th Infantry Division headquartered at Hyderabad
+ 25th Mechanized Division headquartered at Malir
+ 31st Mechanized Brigade headquartered at Hyderabad
+ 2nd Armored Brigade headquartered at Hyderabad
+ Independent Armored Brigade
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
* Kashmir Command, headquartered at Rawalpindi, Punjab
o 25px X Corps headquartered at Rawalpindi1
+ 12th Infantry Division headquartered at Murree
+ 19th Infantry Division headquartered at Jhelum
+ 23rd Infantry Division headquartered at Mangla
+ 111th Infantry Brigade headquartered at Rawalpindi2
+ 8th Armored Brigade headquartered at Kharian
+ Independent Artillery Brigade
o Gilgit-Baltistan Corps headquartered at Gilgit3
+ 80th Infantry Brigade headquartered at Astor
+ 150th Infantry Brigade headquartered at Gilgit
+ 323rd Siachen Infantry Brigade headquartered at Dansam4
+ 61st Infantry Brigade
+ 62nd Infantry Brigade headquartered at Skardu
* Western Command, headquartered at Quetta, Balochistan
o 25px XI Corps headquartered at Peshawar5
+ 7th Infantry Division headquartered at Peshawar
+ 9th Infantry Division headquartered at Kohat
+ Independent Armored Brigade headquartered at Nowshera
o XII Corps headquartered at Quetta
+ 33rd Infantry Division headquartered at Quetta
+ 41st Infantry Division headquartered at Quetta
+ Independent Infantry Brigade headquartered at Turbat
+ Independent Armored Brigade headquartered at Khuzdar
* Strategic Command, headquartered at Rawalpindi, Punjab6
o Strategic Corps headquartered at Rawalpindi
+ Infantry Division7
+ Infantry Division8
+ 47th Artillery Brigade headquartered at Sargodha
o Army Air Defence Command headquartered at Rawalpindi, Punjab
+ 3rd Air Defence Division headquartered at Sargodha
+ 4th Air Defence Division headquartered at Malir
* 1 The X Corps is the largest and most powerful Corps in Pakistan's Order of Battle.
* 2 The 111th Infantry Brigade has been used by the Army to launch coup and take over government institutions. The last time it was used was in 1999 when Pervez Musharraf deposed Nawaz Sharif.
* 3 Gilgit-Baltistan Corps was formed in 2000 from units who were heavily damaged during the Kargil War. It was formerly known as Northern Areas Corps.
* 4 Siachen Infantry Brigade is permanently deployed on the Siachen Glacier known as the world's highest battlefield.
* 5 XI Corps has been heavily engaged in fighting the Taliban and other extremists along the Pakistan's border areas.
* 6 Strategic Command was created in 1999 for Pakistan's Nuclear Forces. Its task is to guard, deploy and use Pakistan's nuclear weapons.
* 7 One of two Pakistan's infantry divisions deployed with the Strategic Command. Its task is to safeguard Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons. The exact designation, location, composition, and size is classified.
* 8 The second of the two Pakistan's infantry divisions deployed with the Strategic Command. Its task is to safeguard Pakistan's delivery mechanism for its nuclear weapons. The exact designation, location, composition, and size is classified.
Other Field Formations
* Division: An Army Division is an intermediate between a Corps and a Brigade. It is the largest striking force in the army. Each Division is headed by [General Officer Commanding] (GOC) in the rank of Major General. It usually consists of 15,000 combat troops and 8,000 support elements. Currently, the Pakistani Army has 29 Divisions including 20 Infantry Divisions, 2 Armoured Divisions, 2 Mechanized Divisions, 2 Air Defence Divisions, 2 Strategic Divisions and 1 Artillery Division. Each Division composes of several Brigades.
* Brigade: A Brigade generally consists of around 3,000 combat troops with supporting elements. An Infantry Brigade usually has 3 Infantry Battalions along with various Support Arms & Services. It is headed by a Brigadier, equivalent to a Brigadier General in some armies. In addition to the Brigades in various Army Divisions, the Pakistani Army also has 7 Independent Armoured Brigades, 5 Independent Artillery Brigades, 3 Independent Infantry Brigades, 2 Anti-Tank Brigades. These Independent Brigades operate directly under the Corps Commander (GOC Corps).
* Battalion: A Battalion is commanded by a Colonel and is the Infantry's main fighting unit. It consists of more than 900 combat personnel.
* Company: Headed by the Major, a Company comprises 120 soldiers.
* Platoon: An intermediate between a Company and Section, a Platoon is headed by a Lieutenant or depending on the availability of Commissioned Officers, a Junior Commissioned Officer, with the rank of Subedar or Naib-Subedar. It has a total strength of about 32 troops.
* Section: Smallest military outfit with a strength of 10 personnel. Commanded by a Non-commissioned officer of the rank of Havildar Major or Sergeant Major.
Regiments
There are several battalions or units associated together in an infantry regiment. The infantry regiment in the Pakistani Army is a military organisation and not a field formation. All the battalions of a regiment do not fight together as one formation, but are dispersed over various formations, viz. brigades, divisions and corps. An infantry battalions serves for a period of time under a formation and then moves to another, usually in another sector or terrain when its tenure is over. Occasionally, battalions of the same regiment may serve together for a tenure.
Most of the infantry regiments of the Pakistani Army originate from the old British Indian Army and recruit troops from a region or of specific ethnicities.
The list of regiments of the Pakistani Army are:
* Infantry
o Frontier Force (FF)1
o Punjab2
o Sindh3
o Baloch4
o Azad Kashmir (AK)5
o Northern Light Infantry (NLI)6
* Armored
o 4th Cavalry
o 5th Horse (descendant of 5th King Edward's Own Probyn's Horse)
o 6th Lancers (descendant of 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse))
o 7th Lancers
o 8th Cavalry
o 9th Lancers
o Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force)
o 11th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
*
o 12th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
o 13th Lancers (Baloch Regiment)
o 14th Lancers
o 15th Lancers
o 19th Lancers (descendant of 19th King George's Own Lancers)
o 20th Lancers
o 22nd Cavalry
o 23rd Cavalry (Frontier Force)
o 24th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
o 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
o 26th Cavalry
o 27th Cavalry
o 28th Cavalry
o 29th Cavalry
o 30th Cavalry
o 31st Cavalry
o 32nd Cavalry
o 33rd Cavalry
*
o 34th Lancers
o 37th Cavalry
o 38th Cavalry
o 40th Horse
o 41st Horse (Frontier Force)
o 42nd Lancers
o 51st Lancers
o 52nd Cavalry
o 53rd Cavalry
o 52nd Cavalry
o 53rd Cavalry
o 54th Cavalry
o 55th Cavalry
o 56th Cavalry
o 57th Cavalry
o 58th Cavalry
* Other
o The President's Bodyguard
Pakistan's Honor Guards at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad
* 1The Frontier Force Regiment is the successor to the Frontier Brigade raised in 1846
* 2The Punjab Regiment formed in 1956 from the 1st, 14th, 15th and 16th Punjab Regiments; can be traced back to the 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys raised in 1759
* 3The Sindh Regiment was raised in 1980 from battalions of the Punjab Regiment and Baloch Regiment
* 4The Baloch Regiment formed in 1956 from the 8th Punjab Regiment, The Baloch Regiment, and The Bahawalpur Regiment; can be traced back to the 3rd Extra Madras Battalion raised in 1798. The Special Service Group was formed in 1959 around a cadre from the Baloch Regiment
* 5The Azad Kashmir Regiment was raised in 1947, became part of the army in 1971
* 6The Northern Light Infantry was formed in 1977 from various paramilitary units of scouts, became part of the army in 1999 after the Kargil War
Special forces
Main article: Special Service Group
Special Service Group (SSG) is an independent commando division of the Pakistan Army. It is an elite special operations force similar to the United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and the British Army's SAS.
Official numbers are put at 2,100 men, in 3 Battalions; however the actual strength is classified.[17] It is estimated to have been increased to 4 Battalions, with the eventual formation of 2 Brigades of Special Forces (6 Battalions).
Political and Economic
The Pakistan Army has always played an integral part of the Pakistan government since its inception mainly on the pretext of lack of good civilian leadership corruption and inefficieny.[20] It has virtually acted as a third party that has repeatedly seized power in the name of stabilizing Pakistan and ending corruption. However, according to the political observers, political instability, lawlessness and corruption are direct consequences of army rule.[21][22]
The tradition of insubordination of the army towards the legitimate leadership of the country can be traced back to Lt. Gen Frank Messervy who had resisted obeying the orders of Pakistans founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This was described as the main reason for his early retirement. However it did not prevent him being honored and promoted to general. Later General Douglas Gracey, the C in C of the Pakistan Army did not send troops to the Kashmir front and refused to obey the order to do so given by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Governor-General of Pakistan .[23]. Gracey argued that Jinnah as Governor-General represented the British Crown of which he himself was an appointee. The same tradition was continued by their successors, Ayub Khan, Zia and Musharraf, all of whom received honours instead of being tried for indiscipline and insubordination.
The army runs the largest real estate business in Pakistan under the auspices of Defense Housing Societies and other welfare societies. However out 46 housing schemes directly built by the armed forces, none is for ordinary soldiers or civilian officers and personnel employed by the army.[24].
Relief operations
Pakistani Soldiers carry tents away from a U.S. CH-47 Chinook helicopter October 19, 2005
In times of natural disaster, such as the great floods of 1992 or the October 2005 devastating earthquake, army engineers, medical and logistics personnel, and the armed forces played a major role in bringing relief and supplies.
The army also engaged in extensive corporate activities. Most of these enterprises, such as stud and dairy farms, were for the army's own use, but others performed functions in local civilian economy such as bakeries, security services and banking. Army factories produced such goods as sugar, fertilizer, and brass castings and sold them to civilian consumers albiet at prices higher than those charged from military personel.[25]
Several army organizations operate in the commercial sector across the country. For example, the National Logistics Cell was responsible for trucking food and other goods across the country; the Frontier Works Organization built the Karakoram Highway to China; and the Special Communication Organization maintained communications networks in remote parts of Pakistan. Pakistan Army was involved in relief activities not only in Pakistan but also in many other countries of the world, like they went for relief activities after Bangladesh was recently hit by floods. The Pak Army also went to Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka after they were hit by tsunami. Pakistan Army and Navy sent ships and helicopters to the friendly nations for the tsunami relief operation.
See also: 2009 refugee crisis in Pakistan
Personnel
Personnel training
Enlisted ranks
Most enlisted personnel used to come from rural families, and many have only rudimentary literacy skills, but with the increase in the litracy level the requirements have been raised to Matriculate level (10th Grade). Recruits are processed gradually through a paternalistically run regimental training center, taught the official language, Urdu, if necessary, and given a period of elementary education before their military training actually starts.
In the thirty-six-week training period, they develop an attachment to the regiment they will remain with through much of their careers and begin to develop a sense of being a Pakistani rather than primarily a member of a tribe or a village. Enlisted men usually serve for eighteen years, during which they participate in regular training cycles and have the opportunity to take academic courses to help them advance
