China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that will one day be annexed.
Beijing:
A media report here on Saturday said the Chinese military is pressuring the government to bring in wartime legislation with force if needed amid rising tensions over Taiwan with the US to protect the country’s sovereignty and national interests.
The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper reported that representatives of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s legislature, called for an urgent need for such legislation during its current session.
The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) has a substantial number of PLA representatives in the NPC, which is regarded as a rubber-stamp parliament for routine approval of party proposals.
PLA deputy Wu Shihua, who was among those who pushed for the wartime law, said China should legislate for the military.
The Post reported that Ye Dubin, another deputy of the PLA, said: “Considering our wartime needs, (we) should start studying wartime law in a timely and systematic manner.”
Zhang Laik, commander of the Shandong Provincial Military District, suggested that China should push for “the introduction of laws such as the mobilization of reserve forces”.
Other delegates called for legislative changes related to the PLA’s 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 off the coast of Somalia. .
Yuan Yubai, former commander of the Southern Theater Command, said Beijing should strengthen legal research and study international laws related to national defense to improve the “rationality and legality” of the Chinese military’s overseas missions.
His remarks came amid heightened tensions over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that will one day be annexed. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to reunite the self-ruled island with the mainland.
According to the Post’s report, US military and intelligence officials have warned that there could be a conflict over Taiwan as early as 2027.
Beijing claims the US is using Taiwan as a “pawn” to reduce China’s rise, and will continue to take strong measures to push back against perceived increases in support for Taiwan.
Shi Dan, a military law expert in Beijing, said Taiwan was a key factor behind the invocation of the wartime law.
Xi told the daily, “In recent years, ‘Taiwan independence’ forces have become rampant, seriously threatening (China’s) national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“The anti-secession law clearly sets out the conditions for uniting the motherland in a non-peaceful way. But the situation… is more serious,” he said, adding that China faces more geopolitical risks. Had to do
Xi said, “As the tasks of national defense and military construction in the new era, especially preparing for military conflict, become more important and urgent, so are these calls to establish and reform the country’s wartime legal system.”
“The most urgent need for wartime legislation at present is to adapt to the needs of high-tech warfare, and further strengthen the mobilization of reserve forces, demand strategic resources, and integrate military and civilian development.” China has accelerated military-related legislation in recent years, including amendments to both the Military Service Law and the National Defense Law to increase supervision at the borders.
Last month, Chinese lawmakers approved a proposal that gives the military the power to change the way criminal procedure law is enforced during wartime. victory in battle”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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