Could the PLA’s robot soldiers be used against Taiwan?

(Edited and refined by Candice Chan, with the assistance of AI translation.)

China’s military is reportedly stepping up the development of military humanoid robots that could potentially be deployed on the battlefield within the next five to ten years. Military experts interviewed by Lianhe Zaobao (LHZB) believe the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) efforts are aimed not only at strengthening its urban warfare capabilities in the event of an assault on Taiwan proper, but, more importantly, at meeting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership’s call to develop “new-quality combat capabilities” for the battlefields of the future.

Reuters reported on 7 September, after reviewing over 100 Chinese military documents, that military institutions in China are testing humanoids against battlefield requirements, seeking to acquire robots and technologies to train them, and studying how they might function ‌ alongside troops.

According to the report, the work gained momentum in 2025 and 2026, focusing on robot perception, manipulation, and training data.

A role for robots

According to another military procurement document, in June this year, the PLA budgeted about US$300,000 for a system to collect and label camera, radar and motion data for humanoids, including information about terrain they ​could traverse.

The specifications suggest that Chinese military interest is extending from robot bodies into the perception, manipulation and training systems ​that defence scholars say are essential for humanoids to move beyond controlled demonstrations.

In a paper published last August, researchers at the National University of Defense Technology’s experimental training base in Xi’an outlined one possible role for humanoid robots in urban warfare. In the scenario, six robotic combat units — including humanoid robots, robot dogs and unmanned ground vehicles — were integrated into two assault groups to clear enemy-occupied buildings room by room.

Su Tzu-yun, director of the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told LHZB that urban warfare is one of the most complex forms of combat, involving everything from streets and alleys to high-rise and low-rise buildings.

“If these biomimetic robots can cope with urban warfare, they should have an easier time adapting to battlefield conditions in more open terrain.”

Robots against Taiwan?

In recent years, Taiwan’s military has made strengthening urban resilience and defence across the island a key focus of its annual Han Kuang exercises. Asked whether the PLA was accelerating the development of military humanoid robots specifically for urban combat in a potential invasion of Taiwan, Su said Taiwan should remain vigilant, “but there is no need to be paranoid”.

He said: “The fact is this is not just about the Taiwan Strait. The PLA would not develop a particular type of equipment just for operations in the Taiwan Strait. (Military humanoid robots) are ultimately intended to support the ‘new-quality combat capabilities’ called for by (CCP General Secretary) Xi Jinping to meet the demands of future warfare.”

Chinese state media stepped up publicity surrounding military humanoid robots in August. In a rare glimpse of the technology, several seconds of close-up footage showing the military testing humanoid robot soldiers appeared in CCTV’s flagship Xinwen Lianbo news programme on 1 August, China’s Army Day.

The five-day World Humanoid Robot Games opened in Beijing on 22 August. After Chinese humanoid robots broke human world records in the 100-metre sprint and high jump at the event, the PLA Daily published an article on 28 August calling for efforts to “accelerate the testing and refinement of intelligent equipment, so that the ‘robots’ of the laboratory can truly become ‘fighters’ capable of winning wars”.

Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said he did not see humanoid robots as practical battlefield systems at present, but they could be in five to ten years.

Chinese military commentator Song Zhongping told LHZB that robots were already being widely used on the battlefield in the Russia-Ukraine war, including intelligent drones, which are essentially flying robots.

“Humanoid robots are just a gimmick. Real robots are already totally there on the battlefield. As for when humanoid robots will appear — whether that will be within the next five to ten years — I think that if there is a genuine need for them, the technology can be developed,” Song further explained.

Real-life challenges

Su said one of the biggest obstacles currently facing military humanoid robots is their limited battery life. At present, their batteries typically last only two to three hours. “In a high-intensity battlefield environment, that could fall to just one or two hours, which would make it difficult for them to carry out meaningful combat operations.”

Humanoid robots advancing on the ground would also be easier for defenders to detect and destroy than drones, he added.

Song, meanwhile, believes the greatest technological challenge is giving humanoid robots the ability to adapt autonomously to battlefield conditions and develop capabilities such as situational awareness. Battlefield environments are exceptionally demanding, he said, with electromagnetic interference, electromagnetic shielding, difficult terrain and harsh weather all potentially having a major impact on AI-enabled weapons and equipment.

“The challenge is to solve both the ‘brain’ problem — enabling the robot to understand tactics and perceive what is happening around it — and the ‘cerebellum’ problem — giving it the agility to move and adapt to different terrain. Having only one or the other is not enough. The two have to work together seamlessly,” Song said.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “为满足未来战场需求 解放军据报加快研发军用人形机器人”.

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