EXPERT Capsule Course
China’s Defence in the New Era
China’s military transformation over the past decade is one of the most consequential shifts in the global security landscape. The People’s Liberation Army has undergone sweeping structural reforms, reorganising from an army-centric force into a leaner joint warfighting-focused system built around theatre commands, integrated and precision operations, and an increasingly sophisticated military-industrial complex. At the same time, Beijing is fielding advanced weapons systems at a pace that has surprised even its closest observers — from hypersonic missiles and stealth fighters to aircraft carriers and AI-enabled autonomous platforms. China’s defence budget has grown at over 7 per cent annually since 2022, and its defence exports now arm countries from Pakistan to West Africa, quietly constructing a parallel security architecture in the Indo-Pacific.
For India, none of this is purely academic. China is simultaneously a continental neighbour with an unresolved border, a naval competitor expanding its presence in the Indian Ocean, a military-industrial partner to Pakistan, and an increasingly active arms supplier in India’s immediate neighbourhood. Understanding how the PLA is organised, how it trains and fights, what it produces and exports, and where it intends to apply force is no longer a niche specialisation — it is an imperative.
China’s Defence in The New Era is an online, four-week course designed to give policymakers, military professionals, lawyers, think tankers, defence journalists, academics, and students a structured and accessible understanding of China’s military modernisation and what it means for India and the region. The course covers themes around the PLA’s post-2015 organisational overhaul, its purges and politics, China’s military-industrial complex and defence export ecosystem, evolving doctrine from informatisation to intelligentisation, the Taiwan contingency, and the India-China border. Participants will engage with Chinese-language primary sources, official defence white papers, and analytical frameworks that go beyond headlines to understand the logic and drivers enabling (or hindering) the PLA’s transformation.
Executive Capsule
| FORMAT | 4 weeks · online |
| CADENCE | 2 webinars every Saturday · 2 mid-week webinars |
| APPLY BY | 1 June 2026 |
| FEE | ₹12,000 + 18% GST |
Curriculum
Theory and Practice of Power in China
Week 1 · Instructor: Anushka Saxena
UNITS- U.01Is China a Great Power?: Theory, Ambitions, and The ONSC
An introduction to great power theory and framework-based explanations of China's security worldview
Understanding China's national security architecture and the role of the Overall National Security Concept (ONSC) - U.02Can the PLA Win a War?: Reforms & Organisation since 2015
Understanding the PLA's structural overhaul, theatre commands, and new-age units
An introduction to the CMC, service branches, and the joint operations command chain
A World-Class Fighting Force?
Week 2 · Instructor: Anushka Saxena
UNITS- U.01Informatised Jointness to Intelligentised Precision: PLA Doctrine & Training Drills
Understanding the doctrinal evolution from "people's war under modern conditions" to "intelligentised warfare"
An introduction to how the PLA trains: joint exercises, force-on-force drills, and the role of the Blue Force - U.02Caging Tigers & Swatting Flies: Purges & Efficiency in China's Military and Defence Industrial Ecosystem
Understanding the anti-corruption campaigns in the PLA and defence industry under Xi Jinping
The tension between political loyalty and professional competence in the PLA's leadership pipeline
The War Economy & Machinery
Week 3 · Instructor: Anushka Saxena
UNITS- U.01A Window Into China's Military-Industrial Complex
An introduction to China's defence SOEs: AVIC, CETC, NORINCO, CSSC, CASC, and CASIC
Understanding Military-Civil Fusion: from Deng's 16-Character Policy to Xi's national strategy - U.01A Parallel Security Order: China's Defence Exports/Diplomacy
Mapping China's defence export ecosystem: clients, platforms, financing, and dual-use transfers
The China-Pakistan military-industrial nexus as a case study in defence industrial statecraft
Theater Watch
Week 4 ·Instructor: Anushka Saxena
UNITS- U.01Will China Invade Taiwan?: A Preview of Beijing's Toolkit
Understanding the military, legal, and political dimensions of a Taiwan contingency
An introduction to the PLA's coercive toolkit: blockade, quarantine, grey zone operations, and amphibious assault - U.02Is Disengagement = Border Security?: China's India Strategy
Understanding China's Western Theatre Command and its force posture along the LAC
From Doklam to Galwan to disengagement: what has changed and what hasn't
10 June · China's Vision for the New World Order
Instructor: Manoj Kewalramani
Understanding the pillars of Xi Jinping's approach to the world order, and the features of his flagship programmes: GDI, GSI, GCI, GGI.
17 June · China's Weaponisation of Geoeconomics
Instructor: Amit Kumar
Assessing China's trade and investment practices, the economics of Beijing's worldview, and the domestic state of affairs.
Application process
and fees
Eligibility
An undergraduate degree in any discipline is mandatory. A Statement of Purpose of up to 200 words is required as part of the application. Open to professionals from any sector.
Application
The Academic Committee will review the application form. Please take some time to reflect on your purpose of taking up this course and how you think you will be able to use the learning in future. The Committee gives significant weight to this response in its decision when reviewing the application. Hence, you are requested to fill the application form with sincerity and diligence, latest by 1 June 2026.
Scholarships
The full programme fee for university students and Takshashila Alumni is ₹9,600 + GST (To avail the 20% scholarship, proof must be submitted in the application form. For example: Student ID card/ semester mark-sheet; Takshashila course citation/ certificate).
Payment
Selected applicants will be intimated by the Academic Committee and must complete payment by 5 June 2026 to confirm their seat.
