PLA

February 1979 was the last time China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was engaged in a large-scale war. In that conflict, a month-long invasion of Vietnam, the PLA suffered such high casualties, despite having a numerical advantage, that its overall performance is considered rather lackluster.

While the true number of casualties from both sides may never be definitively known (some Western estimates put Chinese losses as high as 26,000 killed and over 30,000 wounded), it was clear that the PLA was at a very low level of sophistication.

Since that war, PLA modernization has been a top priority for every Chinese …