Topics Covered: India and neighbours.
China amends defense law to boost war preparedness:
Context:
China’s National Defence Law has been amended.
Key changes:
- Gives the Central Military Commission (CMC) greater power in mobilising resources to protect a new and broader definition of what constitutes the national interest.
- Experts say the phrase “development interests” included the protection of China’s economic activities and assets overseas, such as those under the Belt and Road Initiative, as a reason for defence mobilisation.
- The amendment broadened the scope of key security fields beyond land borders, maritime and air defence, to include outer space and electromagnetic networks.
- The amendment also said China “will participate in global security governance, join multilateral security talks and push for and set up a set of international rules that is widely accepted, fair and reasonable”.
Implications:
The change comes amid a push for closer civil-military fusion, with a target to make the PLA a “world class” military, or on par with the United States military, by 2049, when the People’s Republic of China turns 100.
Sources: the Hindu.
