Abstract

The People’s Liberation Army’s operational framework Systems Destruction Warfare (体系破击战), combined with artificial intelligence, quantum sensing, hypersonic weapons, and counterspace capabilities, is reshaping the logic of strategic deterrence. This article argues that the convergence of these advancements creates an “intelligentized” security dilemma characterized by compressed decision timelines, the integration of nuclear, conventional, and space architectures, and nonlinear escalation pathways that render Cold War stability models obsolete. Tracing PLA doctrinal evolution from mechanization through informatization (信息化) to intelligentization (智能化), the analysis examines how each technological domain contributes to an increasingly unstable strategic environment and, critically, how these domains compound one another within a single operational framework. The article further evaluates the internal frictions constraining PLA modernization, including corruption, personnel shortfalls, and gaps between doctrinal ambition and technological integration, assessing their implications for the net strategic risk. The analysis concludes that the greatest threat lies not in any single technology but in the synergistic interaction of destabilizing capabilities within a doctrine that exploits systemic vulnerabilities, and proposes domain-specific governance mechanisms tailored to the compound dynamics identified.

Keywords: Systems Destruction Warfare, intelligentized warfare, security dilemma, strategic stability, People's Liberation Army, nuclear deterrence, escalation dynamics, emerging military technologies

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5783-2437