China’s revised National Defense Law went into effect Jan. 1. For the first time, the newly revised Chinese national defense law adds “secession” and protection of “development interests” as grounds for mobilizing and deploying military and reserve forces to the legislation. The words “development interests” appear frequently in the newly revised national defense law, drawing attention.
Observers have noted that the words “development interests” appear four times in the newly revised law, reflecting the expansion of China’s defense tensions and a dramatic shift in its foreign strategic posture.
The first appearance of “development interests” in the law is in Article 2 of the General Provisions, which reads, “This law shall apply to the military activities of the state to prevent and resist aggression, to stop armed subversion and secession, and to defend national sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, security, and development interests, as well as to military-related activities in politics, economics, diplomacy, science and technology, education, etc.”
The national sovereignty mentioned in this article falls within the scope of China’s core national interests. “China’s core interests include national sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity, and national unity. Xi Jinping said, “No foreign country should expect us to trade its core interests, or to swallow the bitter fruit of harming our sovereignty, security and development interests.
Analysts believe that China has expanded the rights of the military under Xi Jinping by amending the national defense law. This means that if China’s “development interests” are threatened, it could initiate war. China will likely show more initiative in warfare.
The amendment to China’s national defense law was adopted by China’s National People’s Congress on December 26, 2020, after two years of deliberations.
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