Held on September 26, 2008, the 2008 People's Liberation Army (PLA) Conference, conducted by the National Bureau of Asian Research, the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, and the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, brought together more than 70 leading experts to examine the PLA's evoloving role and how PLA doctrine will affect both Taiwan and the entire Asia-Pacific region. This monograph discusses the PLA's involvement in disaster and humanitarian relief, United Nations peacekeeping operations (UNPKO), counterterrorism and border defense, security in outer space and cyberspace, and the level of activity in regional "joint" operational contingencies.