I'm John Baccu with my friend and colleague Gordon Chang at Gordon G Chang and we're

speaking with Rick Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, because of shuffling the

field of battle for the PLA, the People's Liberation Army, the defunct Strategic Support Force becomes the active information support force, which is a great big numbing statement.

Inside here, however, is something that resembles the space force.

Rick, this reorganization, space force is now empowered or subordinate,

and does this include the possibility that not only low-Earth orbit it's going to be a

combat zone but the South Pole of the Moon and beyond?

Yes, John. The PLA's reorganization of an aerospace force, making it a separate arm directly

under the Central Military Commission is a major elevation in the PLA's

configuration not just for dominating low-Earth orbit, the Moon and beyond, but also for

dominating near space, the realm just below low-Earth orbit where you can do, where you can pursue missions more stealthily and more rapidly.

This to me reflects the victory of the PLA Air Force.

In the early 2000s, one could read about in the Hong Kong, pro-China

Hong Kong press about how the PLA Air Force and the former general equipment department under the Central

Military Commission which was in control of most space activities manned and

unmanned were vying for control of a future space force.

The establishment of the Strategic Support Force in 2015

was the victory of the General Armaments Department, the General Equipment Department. The rocket guys emerged on top.

But with the new reorganization,

I would conclude that the Air Force has finally got its piece of this pie.

And so the aerospace force of the PLA will include aspects of the PLA Air Force that have been developing for 20 years

to conduct operations and combat in near space in addition to the missile arm which has been equipping for just as long to pursue

...