PLA calls to support military reforms

'Political liberalism threat to CPC military grip'

China's military has called for the army to "resolutely support and uphold" military reform and steer clear of "political liberalism," following the fall of a former military leader Xu Caihou.

It is believed the call is a start to lay the groundwork for major reform of the military, which will reportedly commence next year.

The General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) issued new publicity and education guidelines demanding the military to uphold and dedicate itself to military reform spearheaded by Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and to strongly align with the Party and Xi's leadership "politically, ideologically, and behaviorally," reported the PLA Daily Monday.

The notice asked military personnel to maintain strong discipline and not to believe in or spread rumors about the reforms, as well as to stay away from political liberalism.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) first announced defense and military reforms at a key plenary session of the CPC Central Committee in November 2013 that pushes for the PLA's modernization by a series of major organizational restructuring.

In March, a new leading group for deepening reform on national defense and the armed forces, a subcommittee of the top-level CMC, held its first meeting, signaling Xi's determination to realize the reforms, reported the Xinhua News Agency.

The top leadership has reached consensus on the reforms' major issues over the military's management system and strategies for a joint operational command system, and has established a number of small reform groups, reported the Guangzhou-based bi-weekly South Reviews in June, quoting an army insider.

The military reforms will begin in full force in 2015 and this year has been set aside to lay the groundwork, reported the public WeChat account Cha Shiju, or Political Observer, in reference to the decision made by the CMC at a meeting discussing the organizational restructuring last December.

It said the reforms will cut back on the number of non-combat groups and personnel, and improve the ratio between different categories of troops as well as the officer-soldier ratio.

The Chinese military has undergone three rounds of major restructuring since the mid-1980s, which scaled back the number of troops to 2.3 million from 4 million, said the report.

Experts believe the notice, released on Monday, is intended to clear the way for a political environment favorable to the reforms.

"It [the notice] especially sent a message across the military's leadership to ask for their support for the reforms," Song Zhongping, a military analyst, told the Global Times.

The PLA has seen a spate of public pledging of loyalty to the Party among the leadership following the corruption probe in June into Xu Caihou, who retired last year as vice chairman of the CMC.

"Xu's case shows that corruption has become one of the major disciplinary problems in the armed forces," Xu Guangyu, a senior consultant at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times.

He believes the ideological misconception of "political liberalism" is another disciplinary problem the military must address in consolidating the Party's rule over the armed forces.

"There has been a minority [both from within and outside the military] advocating the nationalization of the army by disaffiliating it from the Party's leadership," noted Xu Guangyu, "This is a dangerous trend for the country and we have to strengthen the Party's leadership."

The PLA Daily warned the army last Wednesday to be alert to increasing hostile forces spreading ideas of nationalization of the army, universal values and constitutional democracy that would harm or overturn the military.

The reforms coincide with the rising tension between China and some of its neighbors in the East China Sea and the South China Sea as "the situation has become increasingly complicated," Song, the military expert, told the Global Times in an earlier interview.

A major adjustment of personnel took place last month with a considerable number of promoted officers possessing previous battle experience, a move seen by analysts as an alignment to Xi's call for the military to be "capable of fighting and winning battles."