Chinese Militia and its state of readiness

solarz said:

The PLA cultural departments are given as much importance as the combat divisions. Just look at Song Zuying, who's a ranked something like a General?

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NOT Song Zuying. She is NOT in the military although she is rumored to be the mistress of former president Jiang Zemin. I think you are talking about Peng Liyuan who is a major general. She got the promotion NOT because of her military performance (she's a famous singer). She became a general because her husband is the crown prince of China. I think his name is Xu something who people say will be the next president of China (I'm not 100% sure about his name).

Also, in Chinese military, ranking is never an important indication. It is the position you hold, i.e. how many guns you command. It's famously known that those generals who do not actually command troops can't even stand up straight in front of a captain who commands a company. This can probably also be said of any military on this planet.

solarz said:

The point is, don't dismiss the importance of the militia just because they're not geared towards combat.

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Well, I'm not saying militia is completely useless. This thread is about combat readiness of the militia in China. And I said the militia is NOT prepared to fight as you apparently agreed.

solarz said:

Oh, and don't diss the little red doll dresses!

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Oh no I don't...

vesicles said:

NOT Song Zuying. She is NOT in the military although she is rumored to be the mistress of former president Jiang Zemin. I think you are talking about Peng Liyuan who is a major general. She got the promotion NOT because of her military performance (she's a famous singer). She became a general because her husband is the crown prince of China. I think his name is Xu something who people say will be the next president of China (I'm not 100% sure about his name).

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This says she is.

The purpose of militia is no longer to fight any wars or for defence, mostly for natural disasters or coordination between military and locals. Example, sichuan earth quake, the army and rescue workers need to move in to help, but before they can do that, the it is the militia member (those that are still alive) to coordinate and help with the rescue effort.

During war time, militia didn't have as much fighting power as say US war of independence. Example, in WW2, the militia did fight the Japanese a bit, but due to lack of weapons and training, it's very limited even by guerilla warfare standards. Most of the time the militia is the middle man between regular army and the local population so both sides have someone they can trust. The locals knows the militia because from the same towns, while the army can trust the militia because have their names on a piece of paper that says they can be trusted. This is still in the case in China today, where the militia is used mainly as coordination between the armed forces (PLA, PAP) in small villiages and towns. In major cities, it's really just an excuse to get some free time off from work for "training" purposes.

The reserve force is EVERYONE who served in the military as a regular and left. I dont remember how many years the names are kep on the reserve force, but it's different by profession. Regular infantry are kept for shorter periods of time, but those with special professions that regulars long training periods such as with tankers or missle defence are kept on the list for longer. All reserves require yearly refresher trainings for 2 or 3 weeks to keep them from rusting. For example, an uncle of mine was in the 38th group army Recon unit, he was kept on the reserve list for 10+ years, whereas he knows people from the regular mechanized infantry that was only on the list for 5 years.

Edit [previous version coming out of no where.] see #45 for the edited version

Some Militia home videos (edit: and some new report videos)





























Looks like militia often train along side of reservist, so I guess the only difference is how often do they train. (And it seems only reservist have organic heavy equipment)

As to determination . . . never underestimate a peasant! His whole life is a constant struggle. Against the element and against domination by local rulers.
Confronted with an outside force they WOULD unite and fight, see Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq, afghanistan ... better a bad local ruler than (even a good) a foreigner.
Just look at what in the beginning almoast unarmed and untrained Russian peasants performed against the german invader!
Prepared ore not.
trained or not.
You would be wise never to underestimate an angry man with a gun!

pendragon said:

As to determination . . . never underestimate a peasant! His whole life is a constant struggle. Against the element and against domination by local rulers.
Confronted with an outside force they WOULD unite and fight, see Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq, afghanistan ... better a bad local ruler than (even a good) a foreigner.
Just look at what in the beginning almoast unarmed and untrained Russian peasants performed against the german invader!
Prepared ore not.
trained or not.
You would be wise never to underestimate an angry man with a gun!

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I agree fully with u. It had all been written in history of China. But the question now and to a military planner was determination, loyalty and things like that is a big question mark. they are not hard figure or numbers and how much it can translate into actual battlefield is unknown.

Thus if I were to plan for a war, although I will not discount the militia, I will only give them backline support, some logistic and orderly support, but count fully on my regulars and reserves. And I believe this to be true for China's military generals.

rhino123 said:

I agree fully with u. It had all been written in history of China. But the question now and to a military planner was determination, loyalty and things like that is a big question mark. they are not hard figure or numbers and how much it can translate into actual battlefield is unknown.

Thus if I were to plan for a war, although I will not discount the militia, I will only give them backline support, some logistic and orderly support, but count fully on my regulars and reserves. And I believe this to be true for China's military generals.

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I think militia is the very last resort for China's defense. I don't think China's generals want to even think about the time when they have to depend on militia. That would be a time when all things are lost...

not the last resort.
1. it keeps the locals controlled and busy in their spare time in peacetime
2. it keeps the locals controlled and protected (much like US national guard units) while the regulars are engaged in battle in wartime
3. it provides rear echelon logistical support for the army in wartime
4. it provides the regular army with a pool of recruits for standard (infantry) personell in case of a prolonged war

Militia would no longer be financed if it didn't carry out a meaningful task in modern China!

pendragon said:

not the last resort.
1. it keeps the locals controlled and busy in their spare time in peacetime
2. it keeps the locals controlled and protected (much like US national guard units) while the regulars are engaged in battle in wartime
3. it provides rear echelon logistical support for the army in wartime
4. it provides the regular army with a pool of recruits for standard (infantry) personell in case of a prolonged war

Militia would no longer be financed if it didn't carry out a meaningful task in modern China!

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I believe that most of the tasks you mentioned belong to PAP or the reserves, NOT militia.