Run the Military in Accordance with the Law

Run the Military in Accordance with the Law*

March 7, 2022

Running the military in accordance with the law is our Party’s basic strategy in building and running the military, and a necessary requirement for achieving the Party’s goal of building a stronger military for the new era. This strategy must be implemented to strengthen the rule of law in national defense and the armed forces and provide a strong legal guarantee for the building of a strong army.

Over the last year, the military has resolutely implemented the decisions and instructions of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission and engaged in military actions, training and development, providing strong support for a good start to the 14th Five-year Plan (2021-2025), and for the cause of the Party and the country.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the Central Committee has incorporated its strategy of law-based governance of the military into the country’s overall plan for law-based governance. The 18th CPC Central Committee made important plans for running the military in accordance with the law at its Fourth Plenary Session in 2014. The Central Military Commission made a special decision on the subject of running the military with strict discipline in accordance with the law in new circumstances. After an unremitting effort, major progress has been made in this field. At its Sixth Plenary Session in 2021, the 19th CPC Central Committee decided to implement this strategy. This is an important decision made by the Party Central Committee based on the characteristics of the new era and the overall need to build a stronger military.

It is essential to fully understand the strategy of running the military in accordance with the law. We must implement the Party’s philosophy on strengthening the military and the thought on Chinese socialist rule of law for the new era. Taking into consideration the need to build a regular army that is revolutionary and modern in every respect, we should work on a military legal system with Chinese characteristics, and accelerate the fundamental changes required to apply that system. We must improve law-based governance in building our national defense and the military.

We must uphold the principle of the Party’s absolute leadership, take combat capability as the sole and fundamental criterion for our work, and build a military legal system with Chinese characteristics. We should always run the military with strict discipline in accordance with the law. We should give prominence to the scrutiny of the “key few” commanding officers and uphold the principal position of the men and women in uniform. All of this should be part of our overall effort to implement law-based governance in the whole country.

The implementation of the strategy requires integrated systems engineering. We should highlight priorities while taking a holistic approach, and promote all-round progress with breakthroughs in key areas.

We should accelerate legislative work related to the military, improve relevant policies and systems, increase the quality of legislation, and make sure that it is systematic, integrated and coordinated.

We should implement rules and regulations properly, especially those concerning joint military operations. We should carry out law-based management over military training, and conduct the training according to set programs. To ensure effective implementation of our programs and plans in building the military, we must intensify the management of troops in strict accordance with the rules and regulations.

To ensure effective implementation of rules and regulations, we should intensify supervision of the implementation process, clarify the subjects of responsibility, define evaluation criteria, improve the supervision mechanism, and tighten the accountability system.

When conducting foreign-related military affairs, we should emphasize the rule of law, coordinate the planning of military operations and battles on the legal front. We should update foreign-related laws and regulations concerning the military and better protect our national interests.

We should pool our strengths to implement the strategy of running the military in accordance with the law. The Central Military Commission should exercise the best possible leadership, units at all levels must conscientiously perform their duties and fulfill their responsibilities, the legal affairs departments should perform their functions with diligence, and commanding officers should take the lead in fulfilling their duties in accordance with the law. Central Party and government departments and local Party committees and governments at all levels should raise their awareness of the importance of national defense, conscientiously perform their statutory duties for national defense, and provide strong support for military operations, building up the armed forces, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of military personnel in accordance with the law.

The military should make unremitting efforts to strengthen military preparedness, provide assistance to local governments in maintaining overall social stability, handle all kinds of emergencies promptly and effectively, maintain national security and stability, and complete all the tasks entrusted by the Party and the people.

* Main points of the speech at the plenary meeting of the delegation of the People’s Liberation Army and the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force during the Fifth Plenary Session of the 13th National People’s Congress.

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