China’s army called on to maintain social stability as it celebrates 82nd anniversary

China army called on to keep order on anniversary

BEIJING — China’s military celebrated its 82nd anniversary Saturday, with an editorial in the official paper calling on the armed forces to maintain social stability in the wake of unrest on the fringes of its territory.

The People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest with 2.3 million members, should strengthen coordination with local governments to prepare to deal with all kinds of “unexpected” incidents, a front-page editorial in the official People’s Liberation Daily said.

“We must closely pay attention to developments in the domestic and international situation … and firmly oppose all violent criminal activities and attempts to split the country,” it said.

The editorial echoed comments by Defense Minister Liang Guanglie on Friday in a speech to mark the anniversary. “Social stability” has become a watchword for China’s leaders as economic growth slows and exposes rifts between rich and poor. The government is also worried about ethnic fault lines, particularly after a riot last month in the far western Xinjiang region between minority Uighurs and Han Chinese, the country’s predominant ethnicity.

The violence in Xinjiang — where nearly 200 were killed — and a similar uprising in Tibetan areas last year were branded by Beijing as the work of terrorists, separatists and foreign forces, part of a plot to carve up China.

“The PLA will also prevent antagonistic forces from carrying out separatist and sabotage activities and safeguard national security and social stability,” Liang said.

China has long been tightlipped about its military strength and capacity, drawing criticism from other countries wary of the Asian giant’s growing power and military spending that has jumped by double-digit percentages every year for nearly two decades.

But in recent years, China has been increasing its international military ties as it attempts to modernize its army. Earlier this year, Chinese warships were sent to patrol waters off Somalia as part of the international effort against piracy. The Defense Ministry also recently said it will launch its first Web site in what state media billed as an effort to be more transparent.

In his speech Friday, Liang said the army would develop peacefully and increase cooperation with foreign armed forces to fulfill its international obligations, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The editorial also called for modernization and added that the army should accelerate the shift in military training toward information technology.

The PLA is under the direct control of the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission, headed by President Hu Jintao. Saturday marks the Communist uprising in Nanchang, eastern Jiangxi province in 1927, when Communists held the city for a few days. They later became a disciplined guerrilla force and won China’s civil war that saw the Communists taking power in 1949.