The Chinese military is expected to ramp up training in 2019, a year of rising geopolitical challenges and several key anniversaries including the 70th anniversaries of the PLAN and PLAAF and commemoration of October’s 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Xinhua had reported (January 1) that about 2 million personnel were involved in more than 18,000 mostly small-scale exercises in 2018. The report did not offer a comparison for 2017, but state media reported earlier that the PLA conducted roughly 100 larger-scale exercises in 2016. A PLA Daily commentary on January 8, said that regiments all over the country had started a series of combat exercises after Chinese President Xi Jinping issued his first commands of the year last week. It also made the critical observation that “Some officers and soldiers … think they can enjoy all of their service years in peace, and some units have forgotten their mission to fight. They have neglected their responsibility to prepare for war, resulting in incompetence.” Retired PLA Colonel Yue Gang said “With total restructuring and constant basic training at the grass roots, bigger, more complex and comprehensive war games are finally possible and this is the time to put the forces to the test." Adding that the military had not faced battle since border conflicts with Vietnam in 1990, allowing bad practices to build up, Yue Gang said “A military that has not experienced real war will certainly become lazy and retrogressive."
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