Military build-up needed to protect China’s overseas interests, official explanation says
- Revision to Communist Party constitution added need to make armed forces world-class
- Other changes highlighted importance of military science and training of personnel
One revision passed at the party’s five-yearly national congress last month added the need to “elevate our people’s armed forces to world-class standards” to its constitution.
An official exposition published alongside the revised constitution said one of the drivers behind that revision was that a powerful military was a guarantee of national security and developmental interests – and a strategic choice.
“Overseas safety and security has become a major issue that we must address,” it said, citing frequent terrorist attacks on Chinese companies and institutions abroad in recent years.
The exposition, in question-and-answer format, explained the reasons for the changes in the party constitution.
Drawing on examples from China’s military defeats in the 19th century, it said international politics still followed the “law of the jungle”, with the strong in charge and able to uphold their will. The impact of a lagging military on national security would be fatal, it added.
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It said that as the Chinese nation approached its goal of “great revival”, its “national security” concerns were becoming more extensive and complex than at any time in history, and the military served as an anchor for and guarantee of that goal.
“The period of time in the transition into a great power, especially just before reaching there, is the time of highest risk in national security,” it said.
“The stronger a state grows, the more pressure and obstruction it faces. This is a challenge that cannot be avoided and a threshold that cannot be circumvented on our path to becoming a strong nation.
“In the face of the complex and profound changes in the international strategic landscape and national security environment, it is imperative to build a solid national defence and a strong military that is commensurate with our international status and compatible with our national security and development interests.”
Chinese-built infrastructure and workers have been the targets of attacks by militants in Pakistan in recent years.
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China formally opened its first overseas military outpost, in Djibouti, five years ago, describing it as a logistics facility for resupplying Chinese vessels on peacekeeping and humanitarian missions.
US researchers and officials have suggested China might seek to establish more outposts in Africa, given that more than 10,000 Chinese companies have operations on the continent.
Other notable revisions were the addition of science and personnel training when talking about how to strengthen the PLA.
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The exposition highlighted China’s need for top scientists and technology experts in the global military competition as new technology changed the nature of warfare.
“Now a battle has begun surrounding key military technologies to seize advantages in future wars … we have to work hard on forging sharp offensive and defensive weapons and accelerate the development of trump cards to deter the enemy and win the war,” it said, adding that the PLA currently lacks sufficient high-quality human resources, posing a key obstacle to its development.
“We are more thirsty for talented people than at any other time in history.”
