The recent changes to China’s military reserve system, particularly the revision of the retirement oath for former soldiers, might seem like a standard military reform at first glance. However, the implications of these changes run much deeper and raise significant concerns about the direction the country is heading politically.
Under the new policy, retired military personnel are legally required to swear an oath to return to active duty if called upon by the government. While this may initially appear as a reasonable way to ensure the country’s defense readiness, the reality is more unsettling.
The content of the retirement oath is as follows: I am a soldier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, and I am about to retire from active service. I swear: to obey the leadership of the Communist Party of China, to be loyal to the motherland, to be loyal to the people, to keep military secrets, to cherish military honor, to always maintain the true qualities of a soldier, to add glory to the military flag, and to bring honor to the army. If there is a war, I will return when called!
A Lifetime of Loyalty to the State
The policy doesn’t just ask former soldiers to stay ready—it demands they be prepared to drop everything and return to active duty at any moment. This means that, even after transitioning to civilian life, these individuals remain bound to the military indefinitely. The impact extends beyond the soldiers themselves, affecting their families and communities, as they may be forced to abandon their regular lives at a moment’s notice.
This new oath essentially demands lifelong loyalty, not just during service, but long after, raising concerns about personal freedom in China. It’s as though the state asserts ownership over its citizens, deciding when they are needed and pulling them back into service without question. This level of control, with citizens on permanent standby, could severe limit individual freedoms and personal autonomy.
Consolidation of Power
The bigger issue here is the political implications of this policy. The state now has a massive, ready-to-go force of veterans who could be called back into service at any time. This isn’t just about military preparedness; it’s a tool for political control. The government could mobilize this force rapidly to suppress domestic unrest or opposition, giving the ruling party a stronger means to quash challenges to its authority.
This shift fits within a broader trend of consolidating power under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), where control over the military and citizens becomes increasingly centralized. With millions of citizens potentially on call to return to military service, the regime could escalate political repression not just through legal or economic pressure, but with direct military force.
Permanent Militarization of Society
This consolidation of power contributes to a concerning trend toward the permanent militarization of Chinese society. The policy signals that China’s government is always prepared to respond to any challenge, perceived or real, whether external or internal. This creates an environment where dissent is not only politically risky but potentially met with military response.
China’s increasing surveillance and censorship already create an environment of control, but this new loyalty oath takes it a step further. The state could, at any time, call upon millions of former soldiers to act as a force for maintaining order, ensuring that loyalty to the state is never in doubt. This creates an unsettling image of a society where the government is always watching and always ready to act against those who might challenge its authority.
Strategic Use of PLA Veterans Beyond Domestic Control
Beyond domestic implications, PLA veterans are increasingly vital to China’s broader geopolitical strategy. These former soldiers play key roles in China’s international military and diplomatic ambitions. Veterans have been strategically deployed in peacekeeping missions and assigned to oversee the security of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure projects abroad. The government increasingly relies on these veterans to safeguard Chinese investments in high-risk regions throughout Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia.
Furthermore, veterans are systematically integrated into China’s expanding military-industrial complex, where their expertise supports advancements in technology and defense sectors. They also contribute significantly to civil-military integration, applying their leadership and organizational skills to manage key state-owned enterprises. This comprehensive utilization of veterans—both domestically and internationally—enables China to project influence and maintain power across multiple spheres simultaneously.
Measure Example is Maritime Militia
Complementing its strategy of militarizing former soldiers is China’s rapidly expanding maritime militia—a force of seemingly civilian fishing vessels that operate under direct military command. Unlike traditional naval forces, these ostensibly commercial boats create strategic ambiguity in disputed waters, particularly throughout the South China Sea. These vessels, often manned by fishermen who receive military training and financial incentives from the government, allow China to assert territorial claims and harass foreign vessels without deploying official military assets. This “gray zone” approach enables Beijing to maintain plausible deniability while effectively extending its military reach beyond conventional boundaries. The maritime militia represents another dimension of China’s evolving strategy to blur the lines between civilian and military spheres—fishermen become state agents, commercial vessels transform into instruments of national policy, and ordinary citizens are incorporated into the machinery of territorial expansion. This maritime extension of militarization further demonstrates the CCP’s commitment to mobilizing all segments of society in pursuit of its strategic objectives, both domestically and internationally.
A Growing Threat to Personal Freedoms
This military reserve policy represents part of a broader trend toward increased militarization and state control in China. The government’s intensifying focus on preparedness and loyalty threatens to transform the country into a place where personal freedoms are constantly overshadowed by the potential for military mobilization.
Over time, this environment could result in a China where citizens live under constant state surveillance, and where any form of dissent or opposition risks swift suppression by forces that can be mobilized at a moment’s notice. While these policies might enhance China’s global power projection and military readiness, they also signal an alarming shift toward a more authoritarian, militarized state—one where personal freedom becomes secondary to the perceived needs of the regime.
The Future of Individual Rights in China
The CCP’s focus on ensuring that the PLA remains under its absolute control, combined with these recent military reforms, creates a concerning vision of China’s future. In this emerging landscape, the government’s power faces fewer challenges, and the distinction between civilian life and military service grows increasingly blurred.
What was once an oath to protect the country has transformed into a binding commitment that keeps citizens perpetually tethered to the government’s will. This shift poses fundamental questions about the future of individual rights in Chinese society. As loyalties to the state take precedence over family, career, and personal choice, the cost to human freedom and dignity becomes increasingly apparent.
The ultimate question remains whether China’s pursuit of state security and global influence through these means will create long-term stability or instead foster growing tensions between an increasingly controlled population and an ever more powerful centralized authority.
