OPINION | Revision of National Defense Mobilization Law of China: A warning signal for India?

The 24th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress voted to adopt the revised National Defense Mobilization Law, aimed at better aligning the country's mobilisation system with modern national security and defence needs. The law, consisting of 14 chapters and 82 articles, will take effect on Oct 1.

This is the first update of the National Defense Mobilization Law, which was adopted at the 13th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress in February 2010 and took effect on July 1, 2010.

The revised law is aimed at clarifying the functions and responsibilities of military and civilian authorities in national defence mobilisation. It aims to improve the national defence mobilisation system to meet national defence and security needs, coordinate with economic and social development, and connect with emergency response mechanisms.

The revisions touched upon a wide range of areas, including general principles, organisational leadership bodies and their powers, national defence mobilisation planning, the reserve and mobilisation of personnel for the armed forces, military research and the requisition and expropriation of civilian resources and compensation.

The revised law further adds better clarification on the concept of national defence mobilisation, defining it as "activities in which the State, in response to threats to national sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, security and development interests, takes necessary measures in accordance with the law to ensure a rapid transition between peacetime and wartime and convert economic and social strength into national defence capabilities. The revised law adds a specific provision stipulating that the State promotes the application of advanced technologies in national defence mobilisation and develops national defence mobilisation capabilities in emerging fields.

The draft revision to the National Defense Mobilization Law was submitted to a Standing Committee Session of the National People’s Congress on April 27 for its first reading.

The revision was necessitated after more than a decade of implementation, as certain provisions of the law are no longer adequate to address the new situation, new tasks, and new requirements of national defence mobilisation. Within four months of the submission of the first draft, the Standing Committee of the NPC deliberated the draft and adopted it for implementation.

The revision stems from the need to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, improve the legal system for national defence, and carry out national defence mobilisation work in accordance with the law.
The revision aims to ensure the law's coherence with relevant laws and maintain legal coordination, and also ensure that national defence mobilisation work is carried out in a more scientific and efficient manner.

While the revised law  talks about a wide range of areas of national defence and national security, Article 10 under Chapter I of the law stipulates without any ambiguity that organisations and citizens shall, in peacetime, complete preparations for the national defence mobilisation in accordance with the law after the state decides to implement national defence mobilisation, and they shall complete the prescribed tasks of national defence mobilisation. It is also stipulated that wherever  reserved materials cannot meet the mobilisation needs in a timely manner, the People’s government at or above the county level may expropriate and requisition civilian resources in accordance with the law.

Though the law mandates men aged between 18 and 60 and women aged between 18 and 55 to perform national defence support duties during mobilisation, it also exempts certain categories of people, like those who are ill and female citizens during pregnancy. Citizens whose duties are indispensable in certain designated fields are also exempted from the mobilisation duties.

Further, it is also stipulated that the National Mobilisation Commission shall be responsible for organising the formulation of the national defence mobilisation plan of the state.

While the revised defence mobilisation law covers a wide range of subjects, most of the duties and responsibilities covered in 82 articles under XIV Chapters are probably in place since 2010. However, the legislature has undertaken a thorough review of the provisions in accordance with the law to make them binding on the citizens.

Ever since taking over the reins of top leadership in 2012, President Xi Jinping has articulated a vision to make the PLA a modernised, combat-ready, and formidable force in the world by 2049. With this vision in mind, China under the leadership of Xi is undertaking major structural reform in the PLA, which includes replacing Military Regions with Theatre Commands. Another major development reported in recent years is the removal of corrupt officers at all levels to make the force more efficient.

Articles under the revised law emphasise that national defence mobilisation work shall adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, implement Xi Jinping’s thinking on strengthening the armed forces and adhere to the holistic approach to the national security.

Hence, the revision of the defence mobilisation law may be viewed in alignment with the vision of Xi Jinping to transform the PLA into a formidable force. Meanwhile, the revised law, without any ambiguity, spells out the duties of individuals and their obligation to provide material assistance whenever requested by the authorities in accordance with the law.

Generally, when faced with an external threat, countries often invoke similar provisions like requisitioning material, occupying buildings, etc to meet the exigencies. However, in this case, China is preparing to invoke similar provisions mandated by law even during peacetime by training all citizens on how to respond when an external threat arises.

The implementation of the revised law is likely to take a few years before it reaches all levels of the society, as it involves multiple arms of the government, including defence forces. The revised law stipulates that individuals must participate in various programmes organised by the designated authorities at all levels of the society.  

At present, the revised law does not pose a serious threat to the India’s military preparedness along the border. However, in future, maybe in a short period of time, it would train the majority of eligible citizens in accordance with the provisions of the revised law.

An important aspect of this law is that the reserve-duty personnel will also join in regular exercise on a large scale, and that will significantly enhance China’s ability to mobilise men and material more efficiently and with greater precision in the event of a conflict. Furthermore, to ensure the smooth operationalisation of mobilisation at the grassroots level, executing authorities at every tier have been vested with the necessary powers to issue binding orders under the law, which must be duly complied with by the recipients.

India also has established rules and regulations, supported by various departments, to manage any national emergency situation. However, China’s revision of National Defense Mobilization Law, involving its citizens at every stage and imparting training on a regular basis, changes the overall scenario to a different level.  

The mobilisation and replenishment of supplies in forward areas are very critical in every conflict zone. In the light of citizen-based build-up across the border, India must seriously consider and formulate an alternate strategy according to Indian conditions to address this challenge.

(The author is a Senior Fellow, Centre for Public Policy Research, Kochi.)

(The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.)