The Fourth Department (4PLA) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Staff Department (GSD) is also known as the Electronic Countermeasures and Radar Department. It was charged with the Chinese People's Liberation Army's offensive electronic warfare (EW) and information warfare (IW) missions, to include offensive cyber operations. In 2016, its functions were transferred to the Network Systems Department of the PLA Strategic Support Force.
History During the Sino-Soviet conflict in 1969, the Chinese military experienced repeated disruptions of their communication networks, impeding command and control (C2) of their combat units. This experience resulted in the conclusion that China's C2 infrastructure could not survive a conflict with a technically advanced enemy. This conclusion led to a three-phased approach to upgrading and advancing China's C2 infrastructure. The third phase of this modernization effort, the development of electronic countermeasures for C2 infrastructure, continues today and is the responsibility of 4PLA. The exact year that 4PLA was founded is not agreed upon by publicly available sources. One website indicates that 4PLA was established in 1982 for EW and counter-EW. Another website on Major General Yao Hong Zhang may indicate that 4PLA existed or was being created in 1989 when he was transferred there. Multiple sources, however, indicate that 4PLA was established in 1990 as an EW entity. A 1990 establishment falls in line with the international conflicts and activities that shaped PLA IW doctrine, specifically the first Gulf War.
The PLA's observations of U.S. information operations in the Balkans and in the first Gulf War resulted in contemplation and reflection regarding China's doctrine and adaptation to IW, which the PLA saw as a "new battlespace". The PLA referred specifically to the Gulf War as “the great transformation.” The effect of modern IW on operations and international strategy was clear to the PLA, and it began to establish organizations, strategies, and doctrine to address this new type of warfare. The PLA understood as early as 1991 that future conflicts would heavily involve technology and electronics. The establishment of 4PLA and its growth supported the development of the PLA's IW capabilities. In 1993, the PLA made revisions to the Central Military Commission's Military Strategic Guidelines, stating that the PLA should prepare to "fight local wars under informationized conditions," and as early as 1996, major joint exercises included EW units.
The PLA spent the years following the Gulf War studying military publications on IW from around the world, which eventually resulted in the PLA's own IW doctrine that it tasked the 4PLA to implement. 4PLA is believed to have been in direct control of traditional jamming and offensive EW operations since its inception, but it is unknown when 4PLA took on its IW responsibilities. 4PLA has overseen the PLA's IW operations since at least 1999, when Major General Dai Qingmin produced a major work outlining an IW doctrine that he called Integrated Network Electronic Warfare (INEW). His publication was reviewed by 4PLA, indicating that 4PLA was in charge of IW oversight at this time. In 2000, Dai was promoted to the head of 4PLA, likely demonstrating the GSD's endorsement of the INEW strategy and consolidating the IW mission in 4PLA. Bryan Krekel, in his book Occupying the Information High Ground, writes that 4PLA had to fight for this authority, citing a February 2002 issue of China Military Science where the heads of the Third Department of the GSD (3PLA) and 4PLA each made their cases for operational control of IW. Dai's INEW strategy won the debate, and subsequently, IW responsibilities were consolidated in 4PLA.
In 2016, as part of military reforms in the PLA, the General Staff Department was abolished. The Fourth Department's functions were likely transferred to the Network Systems Department of the PLA Strategic Support Force.
Major General Dai Qingmin and Integrated Network Electronic Warfare (INEW) Major General Dai Qingmin was the head of 4PLA for approximately five years starting in 2000. Prior to joining 4PLA leadership, Dai was the head of the PLA Electronic Engineering Academy, 4PLA's primary training institution. His rise to the head of 4PLA is attributed to his seminal work on INEW, Introduction to Information Warfare. Soon after the release of this publication, Dai was promoted to the head of 4PLA. Subsequent articles included An Introduction to Integrated Network Electronic Warfare, which Dai published in 2002. The GSD's decision to promote Dai is largely believed to be an endorsement of the INEW strategy.
In terms of his ideology, Dai sees CNO and EW as principle forms of IW with information superiority as the ultimate goal. Dai indicates that specific IW operations include jamming or sabotaging an enemy's information or information systems, sabotaging an enemy's overall information operation structure, and blinding and deafening the enemy through IW measures. For Dai, the integration of military and civilian IW fighting forces and integration of soft, hard, offensive, and defensive forces are crucial. An important aspect of Dai's doctrine is the combination of both IW and kinetic strikes:
Dai's vision is destructive and disruptive in nature, calling for the destruction and control of the enemy's information infrastructure.
While Dai is the major author of INEW doctrine, the strategy stems from both U.S. and Soviet IW doctrine. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union had a doctrine called Radio-Electronic Combat (REC), which the U.S. Army describes as "the total integration of electronic warfare and physical destruction resources to deny us the use of our electronic systems." Multiple authors call INEW “REC on steroids.” This is because INEW adds additional dimensions to REC, specifically INEW moves beyond the tactical and theater realms of operations where REC was applied by elevating the INEW doctrine to a strategic level of war. Additionally, INEW adds cyber attacks and kinetic attacks on satellites to the REC doctrine. INEW also implements U.S. IW strategy from the AirLand Battle doctrine, the U.S. response to REC that integrated airpower, special operations forces, artillery, armor, and EW. Additionally, INEW implements lessons learned from U.S. information operations in Kosovo, the Balkans, and Iraq. Lessons learned from these U.S. military engagements may have influenced China's decision to apply IW doctrine at the strategic war level.
INEW integrates the use of “EW, CNO, and limited kinetic strikes against key command, control, communication, and computer nodes to disrupt the enemy's battlefield network information systems.” CNO include computer network attack, defense, and exploitation. Aligning with Dai's ideology, INEW unites offensive and defensive IW under a single authority, specifically 4PLA. One of the most important aspects of INEW is that it integrates IW into larger PLA operations, calling for kinetic attacks that make use of opportunities created by IW operations, as Dai discussed above. For example, INEW doctrine combines precision strikes and IW operations, likely targeting command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) targets in line with INEW doctrine. INEW applies a variety of methods, to include the disruption and destruction of systems, creation of false realities through falsified information, electronic jamming, deception, and suppression, computer network attacks, computer intrusions to sabotage information processing, and impeding information transmissions.
The goal of INEW is to weaken and/or paralyze an opponent's decision-making capabilities and the political, economic, and military components of the enemy's war infrastructure. To do this, INEW doctrine calls for IW operations to seize control of opponent's information flows and maintain information dominance during campaigns. IW operations also aim to achieve information dominance that would result in denying the opponent access to information that is vital to continuing the conflict. This dominance should be maintained throughout conflicts. INEW continues to be the dominant doctrinal core of PLA IW operations today, with 4PLA likely in the authoritative position to implement this strategy.
Responsibilities 4PLA has a range of responsibilities within the IW realm. 4PLA is the main entity that conducts EW, including offensive EW, the destruction of enemy information systems, and computer network attacks and penetrations. 4PLA is also responsible for the collection of electronic intelligence (ELINT), although it is unclear whether or not 4PLA is also in charge of ELINT analysis, since what happens to information once 4PLA collects it is relatively unknown. ELINT collection responsibilities include space-based photoreconnaissance, ELINT operations in conjunction with the PLA, PLA Air Force (PLAAF), and PLA Navy (PLAN), some military intelligence and counterintelligence efforts, and the collection and cataloguing of exploits and weaknesses in enemies' military infrastructure. 4PLA is also in charge of electronic countermeasures, including developing radar and electronic countermeasure capabilities, electronic counter-countermeasures, and jamming and counter-jamming capabilities.
On a strategic level, 4PLA coordinates the PLA's EW and IW doctrine and strategy, including implementing INEW. There is debate as to what 4PLA's defensive responsibilities are. Multiple writings on the PLA indicate that 4PLA is responsible for the defense of strategic targets, indicating that the PLA command bunkers in the Western Hills of Beijing are a strategic target that they defend, but 3PLA is also identified as the entity in charge of computer network defense. It is possible that these sources are incorrect, this information is not publicly known, 3PLA and 4PLA share these responsibilities, or that there are different aspects of defense that are divided between 3PLA and 4PLA. You Ji, in his book The Armed Forces of China, writes that 4PLA identified three tasks for improving the PLA's C2 infrastructure's ability to conduct EW, indicating that 4PLA may be responsible for assessing China's EW capabilities as well as the execution of EW. In addition to its operational responsibilities, 4PLA also conducts research and development (R&D) on technology related to EW and IW. These programs will be discussed more below. Subsequently, these responsibilities support 4PLA's ultimate goals of information superiority, the disruption of information control capabilities, the maintenance of China's information systems and capabilities, and the weakening of the enemy's ability to acquire, transmit, process, and use information during conflicts.
Organization 4PLA is organized under the GSD, a military component of the Central Military Commission (CMC) that oversees the GSD's operations. The GSD organizes and directs PLA military units across China, including planning, training, and organizing armed forces. The military intelligence services under the GSD, including the Second Department (2PLA) in charge of collecting military intelligence, 3PLA, and 4PLA, compose China's only all source intelligence organization. The exact organization of 4PLA is not publicly known. Although, some components of its organization include operational electronic countermeasure units, some of which are integrated within military region organizations. Additionally, 4PLA oversees or has relationships with multiple R&D institutions that focus on offensive IW technologies and related research. In terms of 4PLA leadership, Dai is the most well known and frequently mentioned leader of 4PLA. 4PLA directors and political commissars, like other GSD department heads, are likely equivalent in rank to a Group Army Commander.