White paper: PLA information technology enters new era of all-round development

BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Chinese media) -- The building of computerized armed forces has entered a new era of all-round development, says a white paper on China's national defense in 2008 issued here Tuesday.

Starting with command automation in the 1970s, the PLA's information technology has stepped from specific areas to trans-area system integration and is at the initial stage of comprehensive development, says the white paper issued by the Information Office of the State Council.

Achievements have been made in the building of military information systems, with the priority being given to command information systems, the white paper says.

Information systems for logistical and equipment support have been developed, and systems of surveying and mapping, navigation, weather forecasting and space environment support have been improved, the paper says.

Lin Zhiyuan, a scholar with the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, said the PLA's progress towards information technology was noticeable and that it was the time to push forward the information-based overall PLA development.

"People had little idea of information technology in 1980s, but now most officers and soldiers are familiar with it," Lin said.

However, Lin said the PLA's information technology still had a long way to go before it could catch up with armed forces from other countries with advanced levels.

"Mechanization is not completed yet while information technology just kicks off. We must speed up," Lin said.

The 17th CPC National Congress Report in 2007 said China would accelerate composite development of mechanization and computerization and carry out military training under IT-based conditions, "to attain the strategic objective of building computerized armed forces and winning IT-based warfare."

"Mechanization is the basis of information technology and the latter can drive the development of the former," Lin said.

As the white paper says, the PLA is scheduled to make great breakthroughs in information technology and basically achieve mechanization by 2020, and both the PLA and the national defense should basically achieve modernization by the middle of the 21st century.