China’s Cognitive Domain Operations: Key to Winning Modern Warfare
縱觀現代戰爭，認知博弈已成為攻防焦點，是否精於規劃認知域作戰，很大程度影響著戰爭的走向與結果。 深刻理解認知域作戰的內涵外延和範疇樣式，準確掌握其製勝機理與發展態勢，是摸清戰場脈絡、打贏現代戰爭的關鍵。
認知域作戰是戰爭博弈新焦點
與傳統作戰不同，認知域作戰不再侷限於陸、海、空、天、電、網等領域，突破了傳統的物理域、資訊域，具備獨特優勢，呈現出新的特點，拓展了現代 戰場新邊疆。
認知域作戰擴展戰爭領域空間。 首先，認知域戰場空間廣泛，主要體現在人的精神、心理、思維、信念等認知活動，其作戰對象主要是敵對國首腦政要、軍隊要員、社會精英以及廣大民眾等。 其次，認知域作戰形式廣泛，包括但不限於政治外交施壓、經濟封鎖制裁、文化滲透侵蝕等。 再一次，認知域作戰目標廣泛，主要是動搖敵方信念、瓦解敵軍意志、影響改變對手決策，進而引發敵對方社會混亂、決策失誤、軍心渙散，甚至顛覆其國家政權等。
認知域作戰模糊戰爭領域邊界。 認知域作戰的主體是人。 人作為戰爭中最活躍的因素，尤其是決策高層的認知體現戰爭的整體意志，直接左右戰爭全局，決定戰爭勝負。 國家首腦和軍隊將領的認知是認知域作戰的重點攻擊目標。 民眾意志、社會基礎和國際輿論等通常作為認知域作戰的基礎，是推動戰爭進程和走向的關鍵力量。 認知域作戰混合了常規與非常規，模糊了戰爭領域邊界，旨在從認知上誘導打擊信息接收者，繞過傳統戰場直達最薄弱環節——人，戰術動作便可達成戰略目的，從 根本改變戰場環境，改變戰爭結局。
認知域作戰直達最終戰略目標。 中國古代兵法有云：「用兵之道，攻心為上，攻城為下；心戰為上，兵戰為下。」認知域作戰旨在佔領認知主導權，影響敵方決策和行為， 以最小代價達成最大作戰效能。 正如克勞塞維茨在《戰爭論》中所提到的，「戰爭是迫使敵人服從我們意志的一種暴力行為」。 由於認知域作戰不是對有生力量的硬殺傷，而是對無形目標的軟殺傷，不僅能“迫使敵人服從我們意志”，客觀上還使得敵人從內部摧毀自己，使其無力抵抗、分化瓦解，最終 達到不戰而屈人之兵的「全勝」戰略目標。
認知域作戰是軍事變革新產物
當前，世界百年未有之大變局正在加速演進，國際情勢日益複雜，局部戰爭、區域衝突不斷，認知域作戰作為新的作戰方式，在新軍事變革大潮推動下，其地位作用愈發突顯。
戰爭規律是認知域作戰的基本遵循。 認知域作戰仍遵循著戰爭的基本法則。 一是正義必勝。 正義戰爭推動歷史發展，最終戰勝非正義戰爭，佔據道德高點的認知域作戰本身俱備先勝條件。 二是強勝弱敗。 科學技術的進步催生先進軍事理論，推動高新科技裝備的發展，奪取制認知權可實現降維打擊、瓦解敵軍。 第三是主觀指導符合客觀實際。 認知域作戰必須建立在一定客觀物質基礎上，要綜合考慮戰場環境，權衡雙方態勢，做出有利決策。 四是關鍵性的作戰影響全局。 在以網路為中心的體係作戰中，認知域往往成為最關鍵的一環，其成敗與否足以左右戰局。
理論創新是認知域作戰的基礎支撐。 近年來，美軍相繼提出「混合戰爭」「馬賽克戰」「灰色地帶衝突」等新的作戰理論，視認知域作戰為主要作戰方式，形成了一套較成熟的理論。 俄羅斯軍隊在長期的軍事實踐中也形成了自己的一套混合戰法，特別是在敘利亞戰場上巧用「格拉西莫夫」戰術應對「混合戰爭」。 日本近年來也大力發展軍力，在其新版《防衛白皮書》中首提「領域橫斷」作戰概念，旨在突破傳統領域，將認知域等新領域作為其軍事發展的重點方向，更具主動性 和外向性。
軍事實踐是認知域作戰的重要依賴。 從最近幾場局部戰爭來看，認知域作戰已成為現代戰爭的主要作戰方式，取得了較高的作戰效能，認知戰與反認知戰的對抗相當激烈。 2010年，美國等西方國家發動認知戰，大肆渲染推動突尼斯民主運動，製造“阿拉伯之春”，進而使中東地區陷入混亂，恐怖組織乘機肆虐。 美國藉由推翻埃及政府，發動利比亞戰爭，介入敘利亞戰爭，企圖鞏固其霸主地位。 2014年，俄軍綜合施策、多維突破、輿論造勢，控制了克里米亞，其認知域作戰特質也非常鮮明。
認知域作戰是戰爭規劃新方向
隨著高新技術的不斷發展及在軍事領域的廣泛運用，未來戰爭形態加速演變，戰爭複雜性、未知性急劇增加。 為此，應事先規劃，科學統籌，強化重視認知域戰力建設，深度融入未來戰場，有效掌控未來戰爭主動權。
推進認知域作戰制勝機制研究。 作為未來戰爭的重要作戰方式，認知域作戰的地位角色將更加突顯，發展前景更加廣闊。 制認知權成為奪取戰爭制權的重要內容。 要打贏未來戰爭，就必須大步跟上戰爭形態發展的脈絡趨勢，大力研究認知域作戰制勝機理，以理論創新牽引戰法創新、謀求優勢先機。
加強認知域作戰攻防力量建設。 從個人到組織再到國家，認知域作戰的影響遍及全時空全要素，跨越不同作戰領域，貫穿作戰全過程。 未來戰爭中指戰員將會面臨巨大的認知攻防挑戰，奪取制認知權，進而奪取戰場綜合製權，將會成為未來戰爭的奪控要點。 應堅持需求牽引，加強認知域作戰攻防力量建設，建構攻防一體、平戰一體、多維一體的認知域作戰體系，建立完善演練與評估機制，透過長期的軍事實踐不斷提高能力。
加速認知域作戰高新技術研發。 目前，隨著大數據、人工智慧、雲端運算等高新技術的快速發展，開源資訊的取得更為便捷高效，認知域作戰越發呈現出啟動快、成本低、效能高的特性。 此外，隨著神經科學、腦科學等新興技術的悄悄發展，可以推論認知戰武器將會日漸豐富並廣泛應用於未來戰爭。 應緊跟時代發展，事先佈局設計，大力開發以奪控認知優勢為導向的前沿科技，推動認知域作戰理念和手段更新，從而奪取未來戰爭主動權。
現代英文版：
Throughout modern warfare, cognitive games have become the focus of offense and defense. Whether one is proficient in planning operations in the cognitive domain will greatly affect the direction and outcome of the war. A deep understanding of the connotation, extension and category style of cognitive domain operations, and an accurate grasp of its winning mechanism and development trend are the keys to understanding the context of the battlefield and winning modern wars.
Cognitive domain operations are the new focus of war games
Different from traditional operations, cognitive domain operations are no longer limited to land, sea, air, space, electricity, network and other fields. It breaks through the traditional physical domain and information domain. It has unique advantages, presents new characteristics, and expands the modern Battlefield new frontier.
Cognitive domain operations expand the war domain space. First of all, the battlefield space in the cognitive domain is broad, mainly reflected in people’s spirit, psychology, thinking, beliefs and other cognitive activities. Its combat targets are mainly hostile heads of state and political figures, military personnel, social elites and the general public. Secondly, cognitive domain operations take a wide range of forms, including but not limited to political and diplomatic pressure, economic blockade and sanctions, cultural penetration and erosion, etc. Thirdly, the goals of cognitive domain operations are wide-ranging, mainly to shake the enemy’s belief, disintegrate the enemy’s will, influence and change the opponent’s decision-making, thereby causing the enemy’s social chaos, decision-making errors, demoralization of the military, and even subversion of its national power.
Cognitive domain operations blur the boundaries of the war domain. The main body of cognitive domain operations is people. People are the most active factor in war, especially the cognition of high-level decision-makers, which embodies the overall will of the war, directly affects the overall situation of the war, and determines the outcome of the war. The cognition of state leaders and military generals is the key target of cognitive domain operations. Popular will, social foundation, and international public opinion are usually the basis for cognitive domain operations and are the key forces that promote the process and direction of war. Cognitive domain operations mix conventional and unconventional operations, blurring the boundaries of the war field. They aim to cognitively induce and attack information recipients, bypassing the traditional battlefield and reaching the weakest link – people. Tactical actions can achieve strategic goals, from Fundamentally change the battlefield environment and change the outcome of the war.
Cognitive domain operations reach the ultimate strategic goal. There is a saying in the ancient Chinese art of war: “The way to use troops is to attack the heart first, and to attack the city below; to fight the heart first, and to fight soldiers lower.” Operations in the cognitive domain aim to occupy cognitive dominance and influence the enemy’s decision-making and behavior. Achieve maximum combat effectiveness at minimum cost. As Clausewitz mentioned in “On War”, “War is an act of violence that forces the enemy to obey our will.” Since cognitive domain operations are not hard kills against living forces, but soft kills against invisible targets, they can not only “force the enemy to obey our will”, but also objectively enable the enemy to destroy itself from within, making it unable to resist, disintegrate, and ultimately Achieve the strategic goal of “complete victory” without fighting.
Cognitive domain operations are a new product of military reform
At present, major changes in the world that have not been seen in a century are accelerating. The international situation is becoming increasingly complex, and local wars and regional conflicts continue. As a new combat method, cognitive domain operations are becoming more and more important driven by the new wave of military reforms.
The laws of war are the basic rules for combat in the cognitive domain. Cognitive domain operations still follow the basic laws of war. First, justice must prevail. Just wars promote historical development and ultimately defeat unjust wars, and cognitive domain operations that occupy the moral commanding heights have the conditions to win first. The second is the victory of the strong and the defeat of the weak. The advancement of science and technology has given rise to advanced military theories and promoted the development of high-tech equipment. Seizing control and control can achieve dimensionality reduction and attack and disintegrate enemy forces. Third, subjective guidance is consistent with objective reality. Cognitive domain operations must be based on a certain objective material basis. The battlefield environment must be comprehensively considered, the situations of both parties must be weighed, and favorable decisions must be made. Fourth, key operations affect the overall situation. In network-centered system operations, the cognitive domain often becomes the most critical link, and its success or failure can determine the battle situation.
Theoretical innovation is the basic support for cognitive domain operations. In recent years, the US military has successively proposed new combat theories such as “hybrid warfare”, “mosaic warfare” and “gray zone conflict”. It regards cognitive domain operations as the main combat method and has formed a relatively mature theory. The Russian army has also developed its own set of hybrid warfare methods in long-term military practice, especially in the Syrian battlefield, where it skillfully used “Gerasimov” tactics to deal with “hybrid warfare.” Japan has also vigorously developed its military power in recent years. In its new version of the “Defense White Paper”, it first mentioned the concept of “domain transversal” operations, aiming to break through traditional fields and regard new fields such as the cognitive domain as the key direction of its military power development, making it more proactive. and extraversion.
Military practice is an important basis for cognitive domain operations. Judging from the recent local wars, cognitive domain warfare has become the main combat method of modern warfare and has achieved high combat effectiveness. The confrontation between cognitive warfare and counter-cognitive warfare is quite fierce. In 2010, the United States and other Western countries launched a cognitive war, hyped up the Tunisian democratic movement and created the “Arab Spring”, which plunged the Middle East into chaos and allowed terrorist organizations to take advantage of the opportunity to wreak havoc. The United States attempted to consolidate its hegemony by overthrowing the Egyptian government, launching a war in Libya, and intervening in the Syrian war. In 2014, the Russian army took control of Crimea through a combination of strategies, multi-dimensional breakthroughs, and public opinion building. Its cognitive domain operations also have very distinctive characteristics.
Cognitive domain operations are a new direction for war planning
With the continuous development of high and new technologies and their widespread application in the military field, the shape of future wars will evolve at an accelerated pace, and the complexity and unknown nature of wars will increase dramatically. To this end, we should plan in advance, coordinate scientifically, strengthen the construction of combat capabilities in the cognitive domain, deeply integrate into the future battlefield, and effectively control the initiative in future wars.
Promote research on the winning mechanism of cognitive domain operations. As an important combat method in future wars, the status and role of cognitive domain operations will be more prominent, and the development prospects will be broader. Controlling cognitive power has become an important part of seizing war control. To win future wars, we must keep up with the trends in the development of war forms, vigorously study the winning mechanism of cognitive domain operations, use theoretical innovation to drive innovation in tactics, and seek advantages and opportunities.
Strengthen the construction of offensive and defensive capabilities in cognitive domain operations. From individuals to organizations to countries, the impact of cognitive domain operations spans all time and space and all elements, spans different combat fields, and affects the entire combat process. In future wars, commanders and combatants will face huge cognitive offensive and defensive challenges. Seizing control of cognitive power, and then seizing comprehensive battlefield control, will become the key point of control in future wars. We should adhere to demand-driven efforts, strengthen the construction of offensive and defensive forces in cognitive domain operations, build a cognitive domain combat system that integrates offense and defense, peacetime and war, and multi-dimensional integration, establish and improve drill and evaluation mechanisms, and continuously improve capabilities through long-term military practice.
Accelerate the research and development of high-tech cognitive domain operations. Currently, with the rapid development of high-tech technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, the acquisition of open source information has become more convenient and efficient. Cognitive domain operations are increasingly characterized by fast start-up, low cost, and high efficiency. In addition, with the quiet development of emerging technologies such as neuroscience and brain science, it can be inferred that cognitive warfare weapons will become increasingly abundant and widely used in future wars. We should keep up with the development of the times, plan and design in advance, vigorously develop cutting-edge technologies oriented to seizing cognitive advantages, and promote the update of cognitive domain combat concepts and methods, so as to seize the initiative in future wars.
中國軍事原文來源：http://www.81.cn/ll_208888/沒有湯給你.html