China rolls out new wartime recruitment rules amid geopolitical tension

China has released a new set of revised rules for military recruitment in wartime including giving priority to the veterans drafting highcalibre soldiers and optimising conscription procedures which an analyst described as combat readiness for a war over TaiwanA set of revised rules regarding military recruitment has been released by the State Council and the Central Military Commission CMC the high command of the Chinese military headed by President Xi Jinping aiming to provide institutional guarantees for consolidating national defence and building strong armed forces staterun Xinhua news agency reported on WednesdayThe new regulation with 74 articles in 11 chapters focuses on recruiting more highcalibre soldiers standardising and optimising conscription procedures and improving the systems efficiency it said in a brief reportThe new rules will come into effect next monthThe regulations said recruitment should focus on preparing for war and increase efficiency by calling up iquesthigh calibreiquest recruits the Hong Kongbased South China Morning Post newspaper reportedFor the first time a separate chapter on wartime recruitment has been included in the regulations which state that exservicemen would be prioritised and expected to join their original units or similar positionsThe new rules were promulgated as Beijing is facing geopolitical tensions on several fronts including in the South China Sea especially in the Taiwan Strait according to the reportThe Peoples Liberation Army PLA broke new ground in its latest drill around Taiwan by testing its capacity to blockade the selfruled island The threeday exercises which ended on Monday followed Taiwanese President Tsai Ingwens meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthyChina views Taiwan as a breakaway province Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to reunify the selfruled island with the mainland China views any official exchanges between foreign governments and Taiwan as an infringement on Beijings claims of sovereignty over the islandThough the exercises ended the PLA maintained a substantial presence in the Taiwan Strait keeping Taipei on tenterhooks During a visit to the PLAs Southern Theatre Command on Wednesday President Xi stressed the importance of accelerating the transformation into a modern fighting force through real combatoriented exercises and innovative warfare conceptsHe asked the military to resolutely defend Chinas sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and strive to maintain the overall stability of the neighbouring regions amid rising tensions over Taiwan and the South China SeaChina claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea though Taiwan the Philippines Brunei Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China SeaChinese and Indian troops are also locked in a nearly threeyear confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement of troops from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talksIndia has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areasExplaining the addition of the wartime recruitment chapter to the military regulations a CMC official said in order to ensure the normal replacement of troops and the supplementary needs of soldiers in wartime the regulations refer to the common practices of various countries and set up a special chapter to regulate the issue of wartime recruitmentAlso read Chinese buildup close to Doklam plateau a grave security threat CongressCitizens who receive a recruitment notice during wartime must go to the designated place on time to enlist or face punishment according to the regulations the Post report saidDuring wartime the regulations say the State Council and the CMC may adjust recruitment conditions and methods within the scope prescribed by law leaving space for further changesThe amendment is part of consecutive efforts by Beijing to adjust and improve its legal system to better support wartime arrangements in the face of increasing geopolitical pressure while at the same time exerting its military presence in the Taiwan Strait the Post report saidIn February Chinese lawmakers approved a resolution giving the military the power to change how the Criminal Procedure Law is applied during wartime to safeguard military missions and improve the PLAs ability to win in combatBeijingbased military law expert Xie Dan said the amendment filled a gap in Chinas wartime legislation but was also driven by the need for military preparations including against TaiwanThe AntiSecession Law clarifies the conditions for resolving the Taiwan issue by nonpeaceful means Improving relevant military regulations is undoubtedly one of the important contents of current military preparations Xie told the PostChinas military laws especially relating to wartime have become weak points over the decades of peace since China was last involved in a war he said In addition to its 2021 amendment to the military service law Beijing also amended the Reservist Law in December to improve the development of reserve forces which refers to the preassigned citizens who will become important components of the PLA during wartimeAccording to Xie the new recruitment regulations offer more operational and detailed rules for wartime mobilisation The prioritisation of veterans was necessary because of their skills and experience in operating hitech weapons he saidThe PLA recruitment is also focused on college students and graduates especially those with science and engineering backgrounds to fulfil Xis goal of building a worldclass military by 2050Former PLA instructor Song Zhongping played down the implications of the regulation change for any possible military action by Beijing The goal of the amendment was to iquestenhance the legalisation of recruitment workiquest as part of the military reforms he told the PostThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever