Amendments to China’s National Defense Law this month indicate that Beijing is shifting its defense policy to make it easier for it to launch a war, a defense analyst said.
Lin Cheng-jung (林政榮), a visiting research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, made the assessment in a paper released on Tuesday last week.
The Chinese National People’s Congress ratified the amendments on Dec. 26 last year, and they took effect on Jan. 1.
The law, which was introduced in 1997, serves as the parent legislation of all Chinese military regulations, Lin said.
Through this month’s revisions, Beijing has laid the groundwork for giving it the legal authority to launch war pre-emptively, Lin said.
The possibility of China waging war has increased significantly under the amendments, which allow Beijing to mobilize paramilitary forces, such as the Chinese People’s Armed Police and the Chinese militia, in a conflict.
One of the revisions added a provision permitting Beijing to “defend its national interests and development interests, and resolve differences with the use of force,” giving China a wider scope for using force, he said.
According to Article 47 of the amended law, the government could fully or partially “mobilize its forces,” when its sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, security and development interests are threatened.
The terminology “development interests” likely encompasses matters concerning the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea and Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), nontraditional threats, overseas interests, and security in space and on the Internet, Lin said.
The change reflects a major shift in its defense strategy, with an emphasis on “pre-emptive defense” rather than “active defense,” especially regarding “matters affecting its national security or development interests,” Lin wrote.
Active defense refers to the use of limited offensive action and counterattacks to repel an enemy attack, while pre-emptive defense means taking unilateral action against a perceived threat.
“This might translate to China being proactive on the battlefield by initiating a limited attack against aggressors or secession forces, and by seeking support from its allies,” he said, citing China-Iran-Russia joint military exercises in 2017 as an indication of such a trend.
In another paper written by Lin, released on the institute’s Web site on Friday, he said that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is stepping up its joint warfare capabilities to increase the effectiveness of its military.
This would help its armed forces branches work together and complement each other in joint operations, rather than executing military operations independently.
The paper, titled “Strategic Implications of the PLA’s Trial Implementation Guidelines to Promote Joint Combat Operations,” said that Beijing’s implementation of the guidelines in November last year showed that the PLA was increasingly focused on improving the joint operations capabilities of its branches.
It would be difficult for the PLA to reach that goal in the short term, Lin said, adding that Beijing was inexperienced in modern warfare, and it’s military units lacked training and parochialism.
Other factors include the compatibility of weapon systems between branches and the coordination of command chains, Lin added.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS