Article in PLA mouthpiece warns of risks with restructuring plans, but is later deleted from its website
South China Morning Post
Jun Mai
November 19, 2015
Chinese President Xi Jinping (right), who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, revealed plans to reform the military last September. Photo: Xinhua
Two People’s Liberation Army officials at the mainland’s top military academy have warned Beijing it could destabilise the armed services and society if it goes ahead with plans to restructure and slash the size of the country’s military without addressing salaries and pensions.
“The reform will surely involve structural and personnel adjustments and touch on the interests of numerous fellow soldiers,” Sun Kejia and Han Xiao said in an article published on Thursday in the People’s Liberation Army’s mouthpiece, the PLA Daily.
Reform needed support from the country and society, but if it was not handled properly it could threaten not only the stability of the military but also society, they said.
Sun and Han are researchers at the PLA National Defence University’s department of strategic education and research. Sun is deputy director of its military ideology and history office.
Many nations had failed to carry out military reforms successfully because they had not properly budgeted for staff pensions and salaries, they said. Sun and Han added that reform of the US armed forces in the 1970s had gone smoothly because military pensions and salaries had improved.
The open expression of their concerns is unusual.
Most military figures to have publicly commented on the expected shake up so far have stuck to demonstrations of political loyalty.
The article was deleted from the newspaper’s website, but remained on the website of the Ministry of National Defence.
During a parade in September to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war, President Xi Jinping revealed he planned to cut the size of nation’s military by 300,000 personnel – twice the size of the British army. The South China Morning Post reported that the cut would see 170,000 military officials lose their jobs.
Since then, numerous military officers have expressed their support of the plans in various state-run newspapers.
Reports have repeatedly stressed that all PLA officers support the plans, regardless of exactly who is laid off.
“It’s really hard to settle the laid-off personnel and give them equivalent salaries. And it’s natural for them to have hard feelings,” said Shanghai-based military expert Ni Lexiong .
Many in the army – the main target of the cuts – believe its role was being sidelined as the navy and air force were elevated, Ni added.
More than half of the cuts would target officers, and de-mobilisation, and re-employment for them would not be easy, said Hong Kong-based military expert Liang Guoliang.
“The fact that the PLA Daily brought this up means it’s a problem big enough to effect the reform as a whole,” he said.
