China is preparing its youth for war. Films are also a part of Defense Education

TeaThe Communist Party of China’s (CPC) security situation assessment indicates an increased threat perception. During the “Two Sessions” – China’s annual parliamentary meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference that serve as a barometer to gauge the country’s policy direction – China’s elite air their concerns publicly. expressed from President Xi Jinping talked about the serious challenges it faced western alliance Seeking to contain and suppress China, led by the United States of America (US). his foreign minister Qin Gang Again accusing the US, warned that if the US does not turn away from its current course, it could lead to more conflicts and conflicts. In the face of these “threats” to China, Xi’s mantra Party is done for: to be determined, to be strong through steadfastness, to strive for achievement and most importantly to have the courage to struggle.

Xi’s speech at 20th The Party Congress highlighted the need to modernize the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and transform it into a world-class army by 2027. And the South China Sea has also increased. It has repeatedly conducted drills in the Taiwan Strait, sending a message to the government on the island and seeking to stop seeking independence. While the US has responded to China’s challenge by reinvigorating its alliances in East Asia, China views the situation differently and through the prism of its own nationalism and through its ‘humiliation of the century’ narrative – 18 Refers to a period extending from the middle.th century to 19th century which saw many Western countries and Japan intervene militarily in China.


Read also: ,Xi Jinping said, make PLA the Great Wall of Steel, unite the Chinese people at home and abroad


force mobilization

An article in the army newspaper,PLA Deli, Citing recent visits this year by Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, it sees an American hand behind rapprochement between South Korea and Japan after a gap of more than a decade. In addition, Yoon also visited America. President Joe Biden. Academics Zhang Yuanyong and Chen Yu state that the PLA should “very careful”, while cautioning that frequent military drills and exercises between the US, Japan and South Korea pose a threat to regional security. researchers speculated that military cooperation In Asia the US, Japan and South Korea are a precursor to the ‘Five-Eyes’ intelligence-sharing arrangement between the US, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. Thus, Chinese strategists believe that the US will strengthen NATO-like trilateral military blocs and intelligence-pooling arrangements in Asia, similar to the Anglosphere.

The paper also makes an “alarming” prediction. nuclear arms race In China’s backyard, pointing to a recent agreement under which the US can deploy US N-submarines in South Korean waters. In the Xi era, China’s domestic political discourse sought to publicize historical wrongs, particularly Japan’s wartime role in China. Given this background, the CPC believes that Japan harbored militaristic ambitions that were restrained by its post-war “pacifist constitution”, Now it sees a bigger threat from Japan allegedly developing its own nuclear weapons. Significantly, China conducted exercises in the Taiwan Strait in response to that time US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan in 2022 spread to Japan after missiles landed in the latter’s exclusive economic zone. The perception that Japan could be at risk in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan has further increased America-Japan security cooperation. However, the People’s Republic seeks to portray this rebalancing by nations in its neighborhood as its people who influence the nation.


Read also: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army adopted a strategy of conducting preparatory patrols around Taiwan


People at the heart of defense strategy

Along with this, we should also see how the civilian element is being emphasized in China’s concept of civil-military fusion. A recent order It has been stated by China’s Ministry of Defense that the concept of ‘national defense education’ is of strategic importance to the Party. It also emphasizes that steps have been taken in the Xi era to strengthen national defense education through public commemorations such as Martyr’s Day and National Public Sacrifice Day, etc., which have boosted national resolve and raised defense awareness. Is. This is not a top-down initiative from Beijing, as evidenced by a published discussion On the theme of ‘Reforming the National Defense Education Policy in the New Era’ on the website of the local municipal authority of Bazhou City in Hebei Province. The instructions state that the responsibility continues educational institutions To improve the concept of National Defense Education and that it should be integrated into the examination system. The instructions state that efforts should be made to ascertain whether retired military personnel Can advise youth in national defense education. It is the CCP’s initiative to socialize GenNext into national defense thought before it is included in the PLA. Almost on cue, revised rules for military recruitment, which came into effect in May, stipulated that local authorities must give wide publicity to recruitment drives and that recruiting organizations that promote them will be rewarded “.high caliber soldiers,

In a nation where the state dictates which movies its population can watch, celluloid serves as a powerful tool for the CCP to mold and organize young minds. chinese movieborn to Fly‘ echoes the political themes of the CPC’s recent releases: siege of China, technological blockade, and militaristic confrontation with foreign powers, among others. the main topic The film features that China puts together a crack team of pilots, who are selected through several endurance exercises, to test 5th generation aircraft. Thus, Xi seeks to inject military values ​​such as patriotism, unity, and discipline to harden his society.

There is much more to the army. Xi inspects PLA’s Southern Theater Command and instructs its generals improve training The number of troops in actual combat situations, addressing deficiencies in training, highlighted the need to improve research on warfare issues. He has also given formulas to the PLA and the People’s Armed Police Force. integrated strategies and create a reserve force to protect national security.

To conclude, first, we must note the fact that China is creating the specter of an impending siege and is using the same logic that Russia used to justify the Russia-Ukraine conflict, namely NATO expansionism. laid the ground for a military invasion. Russia may not be successful in “selling” its people the war that has caused so many on the run Nation. China is preparing for war, and as a nation invested in studying other nations’ conflicts, as its military lacks combat experience, China seeks to correct Russia’s mistakes and educate its people. wants to harden.

Kalpit A Mankikar is a Fellow With the Strategic Studies Program at ORF. Thoughts are personal. this article Originally Appeared on the ORF website.