Niti Central
Claude Arpi
September 9, 2015
[Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, stands with from left, former Chinese President Jian Zemin, former Chinese President Hu Jintao and China’s Premier Li Keqiang during a parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender during World War II held in front of Tiananmen Gate, in Beijing, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. AP/PTI
Soon after the mega parade for the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan in World War II was over, the blue sky disappeared again over Tiananmen Square; pollution was quick to return to the Chinese capital and so were President Xi Jinping’s headaches.
Xi will have to forget the glamour of the Grand Parade and deal again with the fluctuating stock exchange, the poor figures of the Chinese economy and the ‘reforms’ not only in the financial sector, but also of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
From the Rostrum of the Square, Xi declared:
“War is like a mirror. Looking at it helps us better appreciate the value of peace. Today, peace and development have become the prevailing trend, but the world is far from tranquil. War is the sword of Damocles that still hangs over mankind. We must learn the lessons of history and dedicate ourselves to peace.”
But has China learnt the lessons of History?
The problem seems to be that Xi and his colleagues would like others to learn their lessons; as for them, China has always been on the right side of history.
Xi reiterated several times that China was a ‘peaceful’ nation:
“We Chinese love peace. No matter how much stronger it may become, China will never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict its past suffering on any other nation.”
All these words, with a mighty show of force just a few meters away!
To prove his good intentions, Xi announced that China will cut the number of PLA’s troops by 300,000 before 2017, while the ratio of ground, air and naval forces will be adjusted ‘to better cope with modern warfare’.
‘Better coping with modern warfare’ means ‘peaceful’ in Beijing’s dictionary.
During a press conference, held soon after the Parade, Yang Yujun, the Ministry of National Defense’s spokesman clarified:
“Chinese armed forces will be slimmer but more capable, and their composition will be more scientific.”
But a Chinese ‘expert’ told The Global Times:
“The number of troops equipped with the latest weaponry will increase.”
A recently leaked military report suggests that the reforms would involve the dismantling of China’s seven remaining major military regions; the seven military area commands (MAC) would be consolidated into four major combat regions.
The Northeast Combat Region would comprise the areas currently under the Beijing MAC and the Shenyang MAC; it will have its headquarters in Beijing.
The Northwest Combat Region would be the area of the Lanzhou MAC, and have its central headquarters in Lanzhou; while the Southwest Combat Region would cover the area previously controlled by the Chengdu MAC (with its headquarters in Chengdu). Finally, the Southwest Combat Region would regroup the current Guangzhou, Nanjing and Jinan MACs and be headquartered in Guangzhou.
Further, and more difficult to envisage, the Combat Regions may not actually command troops. Though troops will technically be under the PLA Army, PLA Navy and PLA Air Force central command headquarters during peacetime, the army, navy and air force would each establish a joint command unit, in each of the combat regions and these units could command the troops in wartime.
It seems rather complicated to change the command structure, depending on whether China is at war or peace.
A collateral of the reform: a Taiwanese website WantChinaTimes claims that,
“The troops to be cut may be transferred to form ten armed police tactical units and 100 armed police warfare groups, with both likely to be stationed in the restive Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region.”
Some troops will probably be sent to Tibet too.
The ‘reform’ has probably begun. The International Campaign for Tibet, a Washington-based organisation, recently reported major troop movements on the Tibetan plateau,
“Including tanks or heavy artillery in convoys of more than 200 vehicles, have been observed in different parts of Tibet in the buildup to the September 1 anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region, which will be attended by Chinese leaders from Beijing.”
Tibet is one of the core issues to be dealt with by Beijing.
The Old Tibet Spirit
Soon after the Sixth Tibet Work Forum was held in Beijing, China Tibet Online affirmed that the Forum
“Clearly defined the Party’s strategy and systematically outlined the policies for governing Tibet.”
Interestingly, President Xi asked the Party cadres to carry forward the fine tradition and to instill a new meaning into the ‘Old Tibetan Spirit’.
What is this ‘Old Tibetan Spirit’?
The article answers:
“The ability to endure hardship, to fight, to tolerate, to unite, to devote”.
It further affirms that it was the ‘Spirit’ of the People’s Liberation Army when they ‘swept through the whole of China, as the liberation war was coming to an end’; adding: “Only Tibet hadn’t been liberated on the mainland”.
Early 1950, Mao wrote to the Southwest Bureau (looking after Tibet affairs) that India and the United States were casting an eye on Tibet:
“We must march into Tibet sooner rather than later, otherwise trouble awaits [us].”
The PLA did so a few months later, Tibet was ‘liberated’ …from Indian designs! But who is to believe this?
A few months before Tibet’s invasion, the 18th Army Commanders took ‘sonorous oaths’ and swore:
“We will resolutely stick the five-star red flag in the Himalayan Mountains so happy flowers can bloom all over Tibet!”
More interesting, according to the Chinese official website, the ‘Old Tibet Spirit’ was forged during the 1962 Sino-Indian War:
“China’s frontier guards amassed [sic] a total of more than 2,400 casualties. They drove out the invading Indian army and protected the territory and sovereignty of the motherland, at the same time as dealing a blow to the arrogance of the Indian expansionists.”
At the time when Xi Jinping speaks of ‘peace’ in Tiananmen Square, the official propaganda machinery speaks of ‘the arrogance of the Indian expansionists’ and the ‘Spirit’ of 1962 is given as an example to follow.
A Seminar on the Indian borders
Soon after the Forum, China Daily mentioned an ‘International Seminar on Border Control Law Enforcement Cooperation and Border Security and Stability’ which took place in Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia on August 26.
The Seminar’s statement quoted Xi:
“Given that the stability and security in the Tibet autonomous region are closely relevant to those of the whole nation, any work related to the region should focus on maintaining national unity and consolidating ethnic solidarity.”
The China Daily article brings back the old ‘imperialist’ concept of ‘buffer zone, and adapts it with Chinese characteristics:
“As a border region, Tibet has long served as an important safety shield for the whole country. …Ensuring the region’s stability and security should be the key aims for government work related to Tibet and Tibetans.”
Why have an International Seminar to discuss these issues, including China’s borders with India, in Inner Mongolia?
All this means that despite the ‘reducing’ of the ground forces, the border with India remains a priority for Beijing.
Let us hope that India learned lessons from the history of 1962 and won’t be fooled once more.
