People’s Liberation Army Second to None

By Shafei Moiz Hali

A country’s existence depends upon its military and without the actions of PLA on 1 August 1927 the existence of today’s China was not possible. This is the reason why nations honor their martyrs as well as their service men. August 1st 2017 marks the 90th anniversary of the world’s largest and one of the most respected armed forces in the world. Such important land marks in time gives the people an opportunity to not only show their support for those who serve in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) but also to memorialize those who have served in past generations.

A grand military parade to mark the 90th birthday of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is held in the Zhurihe military training base in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on July 30, 2017. [Photo: China Plus/Li Jin]

It has been 90 years since the Nanchang uprising. Within these 90 years the PLA has upheld it’s traditions and discipline to be second to none and held a meritorious record. The love and respect of the people earned by the PLA under the leadership of the CPC, speaks volumes about PLA’s record and relationship with the people and this is the reason why the people genuinely feel indebted to those who today risk their lives and to the veterans whose service will never be forgotten.

The PLA has come a long way over these 90 years. It started out with a couple of thousand small arms to have become one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world; equipped with the latest technology like air craft carriers, modern tanks, long range bombers, stealth aricrafts and recently an indigenously developed new generation destroyer weighing 10,000 tonnes was added to the fleet of PLAN which shows the drive towards modernization has just started to pick up steam. PLA’s commitment towards excellence is greatly owed to the support from the highest echelons of Chinese leadership within the CPC. This is the reason why President Xi Jinping recently further emphasized the importance and role of research and development within the military. President Xi said, efforts need to be enhanced “to improve the country's military research and educational institutions to cultivate more talent for the armed forces.”

Today China’s military is developing cutting edge weapons technology, they are leading the way in stealth technology with the development of J-31, J-20 and other stealth fighters, the missile defence program of China is witnessing extreme modernization with the induction of Dong Feng 21 (DF-21D) which is considered as the world’s first such missile with a speed of over Mach 10 and a range of over 1250 miles. PLAN has become the largest naval force in Asia, with endeavors to boost production of modern submarines and capable carriers and frigates. The drones program of China is also bridging the gap between the top drone development countries and China as China has developed not only surveillance drones but also weaponized drones. Though considerable advancements have been made in converting PLA into a contemporary force but many feel, this drive towards modernization needs to be boosted to become the best in the world. President Xi also feels the same. That is why under his leadership the PLA has focused more towards quality rather than quantity. As a well-equipped, trained and disciplined force has the capability to tackle much larger adversaries. PLA is inducting more and more personnel with college degrees and the standard of soldiers and men is being raised every year with this defense research budgets are swelling and PLA is pushing the boundaries of technology to gain the competitive advantage. 

Apart from modernization and the development of indigenous high tech weapon systems the PLA needed experience of safe guarding Chinese assets worldwide; this experience is being gained through more and more involvement in peace keeping missions, anti-piracy endeavors and through joint military exercises. Such endeavors not only equip PLA with the much needed experience but also raise PLA’s credibility worldwide. Today’s world faces tremendous challenges for peace and security this is why President Xi after overseeing a grand military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the PLA at the Zhurihe training base in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, July 30, 2017 said, "The world is not all at peace, and peace must be safeguarded," Today, we are closer to the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation than any other time in history, and we need to build a strong people's military more than any other time in history."

All major think tanks and defence analysts believe China’s military is coming of age. According to a report by the RAND corporation, “Over the past two decades, China's People's Liberation Army has transformed itself from a large but antiquated force into a capable, modern military.” According to the globalfirepower.com’s power index; PLA is ranked 3rd in the world. Roger Cliff, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of the forthcoming book “China's Military Power: Assessing Current and Future Capabilities,” described PLA as, “If you look at measures like hardware, certainly the Chinese military has gotten a lot of attention recently and looks pretty good. To me, the more surprising finding was personnel quality as The PLA, has been on a major drive to create better-educated soldiers.” It is because of the support of the leadership in China that this transformation of PLA has been made possible and the results of these efforts have been aptly summed up by President Xi in his Sunday’s address to the PLA when he said, "Our heroic armed forces have the confidence and capability to defeat all invading enemies and safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests."

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy.)