Chinese military pushes for wartime legislation as tension over Taiwan escalates

The Chinese military is pushing the government to introduce wartime legislation to defend the countrys sovereignty and national interests with force if needed amid the growing tensions over Taiwan with the US a media report here said on SaturdayThe deputies of the Peoples Liberation Army PLA in the National Peoples Congress NPC Chinas legislature during its current session called for an urgent need for such legislation the Hong Kongbased South China Morning Post newspaper reportedThe ruling Communist Party of China CPC has a substantial number of PLA deputies in the NPC regarded as the rubber stamp Parliament for its routine approvals of the partys proposalsPLA deputy Wu Xihua who was among those pushing for wartime legislation said China should step up lawmaking for the military Ye Dabin another PLA deputy said Taking our wartime needs into account we should begin studying wartime legislation in a timely and systematic manner the Post report saidZhang Like commander of the Shandong Provincial Military District suggested that China should push for the introduction of laws such as the mobilisation of reserve forcesOther deputies called for legislative changes related to the PLAs overseas operations which have expanded in recent years and include the establishment of a military base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and naval escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off SomaliaYuan Yubai a former commander of the Southern Theatre Command said Beijing should strengthen legal research and study international laws related to national defence to improve the rationality and legitimacy of the Chinese militarys overseas missionsTheir comments come amid heightened tensions over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea China views Taiwan as a breakaway province which will one day unite with it Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to reunify the selfruled island with the mainlandAlso read Taiwan activates defences in response to China incursionsUS military and intelligence officials have warned there could be a conflict over Taiwan as early as 2027 the Post reported Beijing claims that the US is using Taiwan as a pawn to undermine Chinas rise and will continue to take stronger measures to push back against perceived increases in support for TaiwanXie Dan a military law expert in Beijing said Taiwan was a key factor behind the calls for wartime legislationIn recent years Taiwan independence forces have become rampant seriously threatening Chinas national sovereignty and territorial integrity Xie told the dailyThe AntiSecession Law clearly stipulates the conditions for unifying the motherland in a nonpeaceful way But the situation is more acute he said adding that China faced greater geopolitical risksThe tasks of national defence and military construction in the new era especially preparations for military struggles have become more critical and urgent so there are these calls to establish and improve the countrys wartime legal system Xie saidThe most urgent need for wartime legislation at present is to adapt to the needs of hitech warfare and further strengthen the mobilisation of reserve forces requisitioning of strategic resources and integration of military and civilian developmentChina has in recent years accelerated lawmaking related to the military including amending both the Military Service Law and National Defence Law to enhance supervision along the bordersLast month Chinese lawmakers approved a resolution that gives the military the power to change how it applies the Criminal Procedure Law during wartime the Post quoted an NPC saying that the decision was made to safeguard military missions and improve the PLAs ability to win in combatThis 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