Defense/Military - 6. page

The District Prosecutor’s Office in Kaohsiung city of Southern Taiwan has indicted former retired navy Rear Admiral Xia Fuxiang (夏复翔) and former Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Luo Zhiming (罗志明) for their involvement in introducing retired military generals to visit China and receive United Front ideology, with the aim of developing spy organizations in China. The number of retired officers introduced over the past six years reached 48, with 13 missions and 194 trips.

The retired generals involved in this espionage case came from all military branches, with ranks of lieutenant colonel or higher. Major General Guan Benkun (官本鲲), former senior official of the National Security Council, was invited to China 10 times, while Chen Shengwen (陈盛文), former head of Heng Shan Military Command Center, visited nine times. Even high-ranking naval officers, including the former Vice Commander-in-Chief, former Chief of Operations, former Lieutenant General Commander of the Department of Corrections, and former Vice Admiral of the Naval Command, have been invited to mainland China.

The indictment reveals that these retired generals claimed that China used the visits to promote “one country, two systems,” “armed reunification,” “peaceful reunification,” and other content with the intention of turning them against Taiwan. Moreover, Beijing collected intelligence on Taiwan’s missile defense, military buildup, defense technologies, as well as the personalities of defense officials and military leaders.

The indictment suggests that restrictions on retired military personnel visiting China were relaxed during Ma Ying-jeou’s presidency, following former KMT Chairman Lien Chan’s ice-breaking trip to China, enabling high ranking officers to visit China. This has given the Chinese Communist Party a window of opportunity to engage in United Front work.

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 30, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/hx1-03302023115918.html

On March 6th, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei responded to the 7.2 percent increase in the military budget for 2023 by stating that China’s “limited defense spending is entirely to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.” The additional funds will be allocated toward strengthening military training and preparation, as well as major projects in science, technology, and equipment.

Tan explained that the Chinese government adheres to the policy of “coordinated development of national defense and economic construction,” and “reasonably determines” the scale of defense spending based on national defense needs and the level of national economic development. Over the past few years, China has maintained “moderate growth” in defense spending while ensuring sustained and healthy economic and social development. This approach aims to promote “simultaneous enhancement of national defense strength and economic strength.”

According to Tan, China’s increased defense spending this year will primarily be used to: comprehensively strengthen military training and preparation for war, in line with the 14th Five-Year Plan for military construction; accelerate the construction of a modernized logistics system; implement major projects in defense science and technology and weaponry, and transform science and technology into combat power; consolidate and expand the achievements of national defense and military reform; and improve the level of military governance. The increased funding will also adapt to the level of national economic and social development and continuously improve the working, training, and living conditions of troops.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), March 6, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202303060281.aspx

Seeing the SpaceX’s Starlink power in the Ukraine war, the Chinese military has been thinking about how to counter it. Recently, in the February edition of the Command, Control and Simulation Journal, a researcher at China’s Space Engineering University published a thesis, “The Impact of Starlink’s Cconstellation on Space Situational Awareness and Countermeasures.”

The article said that Starlink’s near 42,000 low-orbit satellites can realize high-speed network communication and a high military potential, as well as present a huge threat to China’s space development.

The China Satellite Network Group Co. Ltd. has a “Giant Constellations” plan called Guo Wang (GW), Chinese words “国网,” (meaning National Web), to deploy 13,000 low-orbit Internet satellites, to compete with and occupy orbital tracks and radio frequencies. That company was established by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) on April 28, 2021, with 10 billion yuan in registered capital.

The thesis also said that it can deploy “lethal” weapons on its satellites, such as lasers and high-powered microwaves weapons, to attack the Starlink satellites. “If necessary, (China) can paralyze the Starlink with specialized electronic warfare and sophisticated electromagnetic jamming techniques.”

SpaceX owner, Elon Musk, mentioned on October 7, 2022, that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expressed that they did not want him to use Starlink to help the Ukrainian army and asked him to guarantee not to sell the Starlink service in China. He also said in 2015 that the CCP threatened that they would blow out his satellites if he provided the Chinese people with network service which would bypass the CCP’s censorship.

Sources:
1. Liberty Times, February 25, 2023
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/4222704
2. Epoch Times, March 3, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/3/3/n13942178.htm

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), a macroeconomic management agency under the State Council, is managing the country’s defense mobilization efforts. Several Chinese provinces and cities have listed their defense mobilization offices under the NDRC’s management, including Shanghai and Fujian.

According to scholars, military operations require economic mobilization and resource dispatch, which is one of the main responsibilities of the NDRC. In addition to managing economic construction, the NDRC works with relevant authorities to formulate strategies to promote the coordinated development of economic and national defense construction and undertakes specific work related to the National Defense Mobilization Commission.

Chen Shimin, an associate professor of the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University, explained that national defense mobilization involves the overall economy, resource allocation, and scheduling. For example, in the event of a military operation, it is necessary to get manpower to the battlefield, which requires the coordination of the production of materials by the NDRC and other related operations.

China Defense News, the official outlet for the People’s Liberation Army, notes that the new round of national defense mobilization system reform is characterized by the establishment of national defense mobilization offices in a number of places and transferring the functions of coordination and management from the provincial military districts to the local governments. This change aims to address the situation of military organs doing everything and to organize and deploy resources in a better manner so as to form an overall joint force to deal with war or emergencies.

Overall, the management of national defense mobilization by the NDRC highlights the importance of coordination between economic and defense efforts in China. With the establishment of national defense mobilization offices in various places, the country can better prepare for potential emergencies and respond more effectively to military operations.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), February 28, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202302280193.aspx

The Taiwanese news site NewTalk recently reported that China is about to take the first step in preparation  for invading Taiwan by force. China’s Reserve Personnel Law  passed by the National People’s Congress at the end of last year, will come into effect on March 1. Some netizens pointed out that the law expands the age limit for reserve service to men between the ages of 18 and 60, which shows that China’s intent to  move against Taiwan is becoming more and more obvious. Due to the implementation of the new law and the abolition of the old law, some veterans (under the age of 60) who have already retired from the original reserve age may be included in the registration of reserve personnel again. In the previous reserve service regulations, the maximum ages for regular reserve officers for various ranks were between 35 to 55 years old. The new law expands this range to between 45 to 60 years old. The old law’s maximum ages for reserve professional and technical officers for various ranks were between 50 to 60 years old. The new law now expands this range to between 50 and 60 years old for senior officers, 55 years old for medium ranks and 45 years old for lower ranks. The new law also requires loyalty to the motherland, the Communist Party, and the socialist system.

Source: NewTalk, February 8, 2023
https://newtalk.tw/news/view/2023-02-08/856517