B.RAMAN
There are two Central Military Commissions (CMC) in
China----the Party Central Military Commission and the State Central Military
Commission. The party CMC is the more important of the two. It acts as the
interface between the Armed Forces and the Communist Party of China CPC) and
makes recommendations to the Party leadership in matters such as declaration of
war and peace, declaration of an internal emergency or martial law and
deployment of the Armed Forces inside and outside the country.
2. The State
CMC exercises professional control over these forces. In China, the Defence
Ministry does not exercise this professional control. It is essentially
responsible for military diplomacy and handles military-military relationships
with other countries.
3. The Party
CMC was created under the first Constitution of the People’s Republic of
China (PRC) in 1954 after abolishing the People’s Revolutionary Military
Commission which had been set up when the formation of the PRC was proclaimed
in 1949. The State CMC was created under the fourth Constitution in 1982.
4.The Party CMC reports to the Central Committee
and the Politbureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The State CMC
reports to the National People’s Congress (NPC), which is China’s Parliament.
5.The following have been the Chairmen of the Party
CMC since it was created by the first Constitution in 1954:
Mao Zedong, September 1954 - September 1976
Hua Guofeng,
October 1976 - June 1981
Deng
Xiaoping, June 1981 - November 1989
Jiang Zemin,
November 1989 - September 2004
Hu Jintao,
September 2004 – Present.
6. The following have been the Chairmen of the
State CMC since it was created by the fourth Constitution in 1982:
Deng Xiaoping, June 1983 - April 1990
Jiang Zemin,
April 1990 - March 2005
Hu Jintao---Since March 2005.
7. There are three important posts in China----the
General Secretary of the CPC which gives the incumbent control over the party,
the Chairman of the Party CMC which gives the incumbent control over the armed
forces and the President of the State which gives control over the State apparatus. During the period
when Deng was considered the paramount ruler of China, it became evident that
of these three posts, that of the Chairman of the Party CMC is the most
important. Deng never officially held the posts of General Secretary of the CPC
and the President of the State, but he held the post of the Chairman Of the
Party CMC from June 28 1981 to November 9,1989.
8.Zhao Ziyang, who was the General Secretary of the
CPC from January 16, 1987 to June 23,
1989, before he was removed for his
perceived softness towards the student demonstrators of the Tienanmen Square in June 1989, was reported to have
told Mikhail Gorbachev during the latter’s visit to Beijing that though he was
designated the General Secretary of the CPC, the real power vested in Deng in
his capacity as the Chairman of the Party CMC.
9. Jiang Zemin took over as the General Secretary
of the CPC on June 24,1989, after the removal of Zhao and continued till
November 15,2002, when he handed over to Hu Jintao. He held office as the
President of China from March 27, 1993
to March 15, 2003 when he handed over
to Hu. He held office as the Chairman of the Party CMC from November 9, 1989
to September 19, 2004 when he handed
over to Hu. He held office as the Chairman of the State CMC from March 19,1990
to March 8,2005, when he handed over to Hu.
10. Thus, between November 15,2002 ,and September
19,2004, Hu had the control of the Party and the State apparatus, but did not
control the Armed Forces, since Jiang continued to hold office as the Chairman
of the Party CMC. Was it an unilateral decision by Jiang or was it supported by
the CPC? What were the circumstances that led to Jiang continuing to function
as the Chairman of the Party CMC? The answers to these questions are not clear.
It is however, evident that Hu was not totally trusted to exercise control over
the Armed Forces for nearly two years after he had taken over as the CPC
General Secretary.
11.A speculation at that time was that the
so-called Shanghai clique, including Jiang, which was in a majority in the
Standing Committee of the Politbureau, did not trust Hu who is not from
Shanghai and preferred that Jiang continued to control the armed forces even
after handing over control of the Party to Hu. It was speculated that the professionals in the PLA found it
increasingly odd having to report to Jiang when Hu was the party chief.
Ultimately, Jiang was persuaded or pressured to hand over to Hu as the Chairman
of the Party CMC. Since September 19,2004, Hu is the effective head of the
Party, the Armed Forces and the State apparatus.
12. According to published information, the present
composition of the Party CMC is as follows:
Chairman: Hu Jintao
(since September 2004)
Vice Chairmen:
General Guo Boxiong (since November 2002).Age 70.In
charge of weapons and logistics
General Xu Caihou (since September 2004).Age 69.
Responsible for political and ideological affairs in the Armed Forces.
Xi Jinping (also Secretary of the Secretariat of
the Communist Party, Vice President of the People's Republic of China) (since
October 2010)
Members:
Minister of National Defense - General Liang
Guanglie. Age 72.Due to retire at the 18th Party Congress starting
on November 8,2012. (since November 2002)
Chief of General Staff of the People's Liberation
Army and Commander of the PLA Army — General Chen Bingde (since September 2004).Age
71
Director of
the General Political Department — General Li Jinai (since November 2002). Age
70
Director of
the General Logistics Department — General Liao Xilong (since November 2002) .Age
72
Director of
the General Armament Department — General Chang Wanquan (since October 2007).
Age 63
Commander of
the PLA Navy — Admiral Wu Shengli (since October 2007). Age 67
Commander of
the PLA Air Force — Air Force General Xu Qiliang (since October 2007) .Age 62
Commander of the Second Artillery Corps — General
Jing Zhiyuan (since September 2004). Age 68.
13.On the eve of the 18th Party Congress
starting on November 8,2012, the following postings have been announced:
General Zhang Youxia ( Age 62) to replace Gen.
Chang Wanquan as Director of the General Armament Department.
General Fang Fenghui ( Age 61) to replace Gen. Chen Bingde as Director
of the General Staff Department.
General Ma Xiaotian (Age 63 ) to replace Gen. Xu
Qiliang as Commander of the PLA Air Force.
General Zhang Yang ( Age 61) to replace Gen. Li
Jinai as Director of the General Political Department.
Gen.Zhao Keshi ( Age 64) to replace Gen.Liao Xilong
as Director of the General Logistics Department.
14.The five new incumbents are expected to take
their place as members of the Party CMC. General Chang Wanquan is tipped to be
promoted as a Vice Chairman of the Party
CMC and a Member of the 18th Politburo of the CPC.
15.On
October 26,2012, the PLA Daily and the “China Daily News” commented as follows
on the key postings announced on the eve of the 18th CPC Congress:
“The People's Liberation Army announced key
appointments in a major reshuffle that experts and observers said reflects its
determination to continue its modernization drive.
“Four generals — Fang Fenghui, Zhang Yang, Zhao
Keshi and Zhang Youxia — were named to lead four key PLA departments: general
staff, general political, general logistics and general armaments.
“All held leadership positions at major military
commands.
“Ma Xiaotian was recently named commander of the
Air Force after holding the post of deputy chief of the general staff.
“The reshuffle
won't change the country's military strategy as the appointments are not
decided by any individual but the top leadership as a whole, said Xiong
Guangkai, a retired general who was deputy chief of the general staff in the
1990s.
“It is the Central Military Commission that makes
such personnel decisions," Xiong said.
"Like the country, the PLA is under collective
leadership. So unlike some other nations, the PLA's strategy and policies are
not going to change with changes in personnel."
“Teng Jianqun, research director of China Arms
Control and Disarmament Association, said the reshuffle reflects the
leadership's emphasis on the experience of senior military commanders,
especially at a time of regional tension.
“Their careers almost follow the same path,"
Teng said.
“All four are generals from the PLA ground force
and have achieved their rank through merit and worked their way up.
“For example, Fang joined the PLA in 1968 when he
was 16. He served more than 34 years in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Fang became the commander of the Beijing Military Command, which covers part of
North China, in 2007.
“Zhang Youxia, who takes over the responsibility of
improving the PLA's weaponry and technology, is the son of Zhang Zongxun, one
of the first PLA generals who achieved their ranks in 1955. This makes Zhang
and his father the second such pair to achieve the rank.
“Li Qinggong, deputy secretary-general of the
national security policy commission of the China Association of Policy and
Science, said that all of the four newly appointed chiefs are veteran and
strategists as they were promoted from major command areas.
“"As the leader of a military command area, it
is necessary to think strategically and understand the overall picture,"
Li said, adding these appointments will also ensure that the top leadership
know more about the situation at basic units in the armed forces.
“The appointments follow the steps of Ma Xiaotian,
who was recently named commander of the Air Force.
“Education and extensive combat experience are common
traits, retired general Xiong said. He cited the example of Ma, who used to
attend training lessons with Xiong at a military academy.
“"Ma is an incredible pilot and studied at
military academies. He used to be president of the National Defense University."
“Other top military posts were reshuffled recently
in a move analysts said injects new blood and enhances the army's leadership.
“Wang Guanzhong, former head of the general office
of the Central Military Commission, and Qi Jianguo, who was an assistant to the
chief of the general staff and a veteran of the border war between China and
Vietnam, was promoted to deputy chief of the general staff. ( My comment: This
sentence is not very clear. There is apparently a typo )
“Li, from the China Association of Policy and
Science, said that Wang might be the first Chinese military officer at his
level with a doctorate.
“"Degrees are a trend in the PLA. At the
grassroots there are numerous officers who have a master's or doctoral degree,
while many of them even obtained diplomas from overseas institutes, which we
could hardly imagine in the past."
“The Takungpao newspaper in Hong Kong said in a
commentary on Wednesday that the reshuffle opens a window on the PLA leadership
on the eve of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which
will start on Nov 8.
“The appointed officers are mostly around the age
of 60, which means they have spent about 40 years in the PLA and have extensive
experience in various positions.
“That is conductive to the smooth transition of the
military leadership ahead of, and after, the 18th CPC National Congress, the
paper said.”
16.At the monthly press conference of the Ministry
of National Defence held on the afternoon of October 25, a reporter asked how the Defence Ministry would comment on the reshuffle in the PLA high level and whether the
reshuffle aimed to strengthen exchanges between the PLA general
headquarters/departments and the military area commands of the PLA.
17.Spokesman Yang Yujun, who is also deputy director
of the Information Office of the Ministry of National Defence, said that the reshuffle is normal personnel changes and
over-interpretation from the public is not expected.
18. Despite his cautionary advice against
over-interpretation of the reshuffle which he projected as a normal rotation of
senior officers, it would be seen as
significant from the internal as well as the external points of view.
19. Internally, it would be seen as an attempt by
Hu Jintao to retain the Chairmanship of the Party CMC after handing over as
General Secretary of the Party and the State President to Xi Jinping till such
time as the criminal trial of Bo Xilai, the party leader from Chonquing, is
over and he has been convicted. Hu would be seen to have placed in position
officers who would support his continuing to hold charge as the Chairman of the
Party CMC. It remains to be seen whether the new Party leadership under XI
would support this.
20. Externally, it would be seen as an attempt to
place officers with extensive command experience, who have been playing a role
in the modernisation of the Armed Forces, in key positions in view of the
tensions in the South China and East China Seas due to frictions with some
ASEAN powers and Japan over territorial sovereignty issues and the increasing
role that the USA is seeking to play in the Asia-Pacific region. ( 31-10-12)
(The writer
is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi,
and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate
of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com Twitter @SORBONNE75)
