Inside Story

Why is China downsizing its military force?

Veterans from People’s Liberation Army demonstrate as government plans to cut hundreds of thousands of military jobs.

It is not often you see protesters on the streets of China’s capital Beijing. Police and soldiers discourage demonstrations against the government.

But this week, the soldiers themselves have been doing the protesting, demanding better benefits.

The rare show of defiance coincides with the government’s plans to modernise the army. It says it wants to cut 300,000 jobs and free up money to upgrade its technology.

What does this mean for the world’s largest standing military?

Presenter: Jane Dutton

Guests:

Tong Zhao – associate at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy

Gordon Chang – author of The Coming Collapse of China

Jim Walsh – expert in international security and a Research Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Security Studies Programme