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China to reduce army reserves as part of military reform

(Global Times)    08:30, March 10, 2017

China will reduce its army reserve while increasing reserves for other services, said a senior officer of the country's national defense mobilization department on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the ongoing sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC).

Sheng Bin, chief of the National Defense Mobilization Department of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), said while the army reserve will be reduced, the reserves of other military services including the navy, air force and the rocket force will be increased in a bid to keep up with China's military buildup, as the military reform has made headway.

The structure of the reserve forces will adapt to information warfare from traditional combat-oriented and mechanized ones, said the chief.

According to the CMC guideline, a new structure will be established in which the CMC will take charge of the overall administration of the People's Liberation Army, the Chinese People's Armed Police and the militia and reserve forces. The battle zone commands will focus on combat preparedness, and various military services will pursue development.

China has announced a cut of 300,000 troops by the end of 2017 to build a more elite and efficient military.

Major General Chen Zhou of the PLA Academy of Military Science said on Thursday that many officers will retire and will be assigned to new positions in this round of military reform.

China will step up efforts on the national level to help retired servicemen resettle to civilian life by adopting a series of laws and regulations, Chen said during a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing sessions of the NPC.

China is short on detailed laws or regulations to assist servicemen and servicewomen, so when they return home, they are treated based on the level of development in their respective hometowns, Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times.

Retired military personnel can return to civilian life in a more fair and balanced way, which will also encourage those still in service as well, Xu said on Thursday.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Web editor: Jiang Jie, Bianji)

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