Chinese kindergarteners see frontline troop training under new effort to militarize kids

The Chinese government is reportedly requiring military education of children as young as primary school, claiming it’s to counter encirclement of the communist nation by the U.S.

Official Chinese military sources have published reports of kindergarteners witnessing troop training in China’s frontline Eastern Theatre Command, as part of a revision in China’s defense law.

The stunning escalation was first reported by Japan’s Nikkei, which reviewed a copy of the draft legislation proposed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in May.

The goal of the law is apparently to educate all members of Chinese society in the “theory, knowledge and skills associated with national defense,” said Nikkei, quoting from the legislation.

One analyst with the CCP said the law is necessary to educate youth on the “correct view” of defending the country as the United States and its allies “launch all-round containment on China,” reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

“The law … reflects the CCP’s anxiety over an increasingly unsettled international order in which conflicts appear to be rising,” Timothy Heath, a senior fellow for international defense at the RAND Corp, told Voice of America (VOA). 

Another analyst warned the law was aimed at preparing China’s civilian population for an upcoming war.  

“This is all aimed at strengthening the public’s preparation for military struggle,” Willy Lam, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, told VOA. 

Heath said the new education program may help China meet recruitment goals, which have been difficult for the government to fill in recent years.  

The new law, when approved, continues the CCP’s drive of more than 10 years to mobilize citizens for total war should a conflict occur between China and any opponent.  

The Times of India reports recent changes to military recruitment guidelines have targeted wider mobilization of the population with a focus on preparation for war, even allowing the arming of private militias under CCP authority.  

Under CCP Secretary Xi Jinping the communists have been aggressive in expanding China’s military spending to back up the annexation of disputed regions, in violation of international treaties, as was done to formerly autonomous special administrative area Hong Kong.   

The CCP also is engaged in conflicts in the South China Sea with Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei; in border disputes that have seen open fighting between India and China; and most seriously, in threats to annex independent Taiwan, by force if necessary.  

Such a move against Taiwan by the CCP would likely involve war with the U.S. and its regional allies Japan, India, Australia and Philippines, say experts.  

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation analyst tied to the CCP, said recently the war in Ukraine has demonstrated the need for the entire 1.4 billion Chinese population to be mobilized in any conflict.  

“The world is not peaceful [and] the education on patriotism and national defense should be cultivated from an early age. In the future, when war breaks out, all citizens must be mobilized, which can be seen in the Ukraine war,” Fu said, according to SCMP.   

Fu argues “physical fitness, national identity, or the construction of patriotic thinking” at a young age will help bolster the people’s ability to “have a correct view on how to protect the country.”  

“Now that the U.S. is joining forces with allies to launch all-round containment on China, including in science and technology, strengthening defense education is very important for uniting national consciousness,” he added, according to SCMP.  

A kindergarten class was even taken to witness “frontline troops” train in the Eastern Theatre Command Air Force, according to an official military report on Chinese social media giant Weibo.  

“Exposing the enemy’s lies by explaining the truth has become an urgent issue that national defense education in primary and secondary schools must face,” said Ma Dan, a researcher with China’s People’s Liberation Army, according to the SCMP.