Why China’s Threat to Invade Taiwan May Require Hiring Professional Fighters

According to an expert in international affairs who spoke to “Sky News Arabia”, there are obstacles facing the Chinese army to storm the island, foremost of which is the competence of manpower that has not entered any military test since 1979. It is likely that Beijing will resort to establishing fighting companies to bring in professional fighters such as the “Wagner” company. Russian.

Newspapers in the United States and Europe publish from time to time information about the weakness of the Chinese soldier’s combat efficiency, especially in a protracted war. For years, China has sought to amplify its arsenal of weapons more than to develop the capabilities of individuals.

Recently, the British newspaper “The Guardian” reported that despite Chinese President Xi Jinping ordering the army to prepare to invade Taiwan by 2027, his country suffers from a lack of fighter capabilities.

capabilities of the Chinese army

• China’s army is the third in the world in the classification of military power, according to the “Global Fire Power” website, but it is the first in terms of the number of manpower, with more than two million active personnel.
• Its navy is the largest with 355 active ships compared to the US Navy’s 296.
• In 2021, the European Union stated that China is expanding its naval fleet to the equivalent of the entire French Navy every 4 years, which some have suggested as preparation for the invasion of Taiwan, which will depend on its naval encirclement.

weakness point

Despite all the military, technological and material capabilities available to the Chinese army, the manpower possessed by Beijing may not be sufficient to wage an expanded war in Taiwan.

Among the indicators of this:

• At the beginning of April, the Chinese government revised its conscription laws to allow retirees to re-enlist.
• The new amendments include specific provisions for wartime, including measures to quickly increase troop numbers.
• Blake Herzinger, a former US Navy intelligence officer and analyst at the Center for US Studies, comments that the Chinese military suffers from problems such as corruption and a rigid command structure, which complicates matters with the outbreak of war.
• Chinese leaders are well aware of these challenges, according to Herzinger, and are focused on improving the quality of their forces to become more self-sufficient in weapons, while developing the capabilities of their manpower.

Russian way

International relations expert Jasser Matar agrees that China “may indeed have a major crisis in the capabilities of its military personnel to engage in open warfare with Taiwan.”

In turn, this crisis is inferred by:

• Beijing sensed this danger. Therefore, I worked to intensify the exercises and maneuvers that simulate the storming of Taiwan.
• China will not risk a war against Taiwan while it is not ready, and it may resort to the Russian solution, that is, the establishment of a combat company that attracts qualified fighters to carry out missions inside and outside the borders, on the path of the Russian “Wagner” company.
• China’s new conscription law allowing retired combatants to return to service may be the door to implementing this order.

Matar sees this as a way to confirm military cooperation between Russia and China, as he did not rule out that Moscow would provide Beijing with the technology of fighting companies such as Wagner.

However, the establishment of such a company in China may also bring crises, with disputes arising between it and the regular army, similar to the crises that surfaced between “Wagner” and the Chinese army, and threaten from time to time the course of hostilities in Ukraine.