Legislative amendments in China have removed war policy and decision making power from the country’s cabinet, granting the Xi Jinping-headed Central Military Commission (CMC) power to make such decisions and mobilize civilian resources.
The amendments to the country’s National Defence Law, effective starting Jan. 1, has weakened the role the State Council – China’s cabinet – once had in forming military policy and granted decision-making power to the CMC, according to Asia News International (ANI).
The changes, according to analysts, seek to bolster the country’s military leadership, granting it legal grounds to react to the challenges posed by growing U.S.-China tensions, ANI reported. (RELATED: US Navy Destroyers Sail Through Taiwan Strait In Defiance Of Beijing)
China’s military takes charge of war powers with new defence law #CommunistChina https://t.co/jSbOxaIZpi
— Jason Johnson (@jasonsjohnson) January 3, 2021
The amendments render “disruption” and protection of “development interests” as legal grounds for mobilizing and deploying troops and reserves, according to the agency.
The revisions also assign outer space and cyberspace as crucial security frontiers for Chinese forces where military activities could occur, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) reported. (RELATED: China Collected Data While US Intelligence Fell Behind)
The changes came into force after a November Chinese Communist Party (CCP) conclave finalized plans to build a thoroughly modern Chinese military on par with the U.S. by 2027, according to The Week.
Japan’s Deputy Defense Minister Yasuhide Nakayama expressed concerns Dec. 25 that “China will expand its aggressive stance into areas other than Hong Kong.”