China’s army infiltrated by ‘peace disease’ after years without a war, says its official newspaper
Anti-corruption inspections to root out falsifying of military training data take on added importance in drive to boost forces’ combat-readiness
China’s People’s Liberation Army is ridden with “peace disease”, its official newspaper has said as efforts are stepped up to address a lack of battle-readiness and anti-graft measures continue to stamp out corruption of its military drills.
According to the People’s Liberation Army Daily in an editorial on Monday, “peace disease” has infiltrated every corner of the PLA since its last battles, with Vietnam in the late 1970s, threatening to undermine the fighting capability of what is the world’s largest military.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the military to boost its combat-readiness in response to concerns that officers lack the required competence after having not engaged in battle for decades. Xi has launched reforms including downsizing the army and placing greater emphasis on training.
To prevent some military officials falsifying training data, the Central Military Commission (CMC) has since November been sending military disciplinary officers – representing the PLA’s anti-graft watchdog – to the army’s five theatre commands as inspectors, to monitor drills.
“Peace disease has been a common symptom in our military for decades,” the PLA Daily editorial read. “If we do not make up our mind to eliminate those evils, we must pay a heavy cost in the event of a war.
“We can only stop a war when we are able to fight.”