Without seeing them fighting a real one (and I hope that day never comes), the debate will remain an academic exercise, albeit a good one worthy of having, kudos to the folks at RAND. One thing that is for certain, when it comes to rapid deployment of military assets --within China -- this is an area the PLA is very good at. They demonstrate that capacity time and time again, the latest rapid boots-on-the-ground to the Burma boarder is another case-in-point.
Perhaps quantity does has a quality all its own: Deterrence gain by deploying overwhelming force to prevent a war from starting is preferred over actual fighting and winning battle.
J-11 / Su-27 spotted
