China is beefing up its military might, enrolling a record 17,000 high school graduates — a stark contrast to the armed services recruitment "crisis" the United States is facing.
Beijing's announcement comes as tensions mount between the two nations and China makes bold military moves in the hotly contested South China Sea and in Taiwan.
HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATION: DEMOCRATIC DONORS AND BIDEN ALLIES FOUND IN DAVID WEISS'S OFFICE
China's total intake for 2023 so far is 2,000 more new recruits than in 2022, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.
The Chinese Defense Ministry said in June new sign-ups would be offered a greater variety of subjects to "focus on the development of future wars." It also released a revamped set of rules for military recruitment in wartime, giving priority to veterans and optimizing conscription procedures, which an analyst described to the Economic Times as "combat readiness for a war over Taiwan."
Foreign policy expert Gordon Chang told the Washington Examiner that the sign-ups can be traced back to high youth unemployment data and that joining the military is "an attractive alternative" to being unemployed and homeless. China has struggled with a post-pandemic landscape that has devastated its economy.
Regardless of why, the country's enrollment bump could pose a significant concern for the United States and its allies.
"China is mobilizing its citizens for war," Chang, a Gatestone Institute senior fellow, added. "[President Xi Jinping] can't stop talking about war. I believe China is not ready to go to war, but that doesn't mean China won't go to war."
China has increased its military pressure on nearby Taiwan, sending jets, drones, and bombers to flex its naval strength as it inches closer to Taiwan's territorial seas.
Beijing has refused to acknowledge Taipei, an island about 100 miles off of its southeastern coast, as a self-ruling democracy and claims it is merely a territory. Taiwan's status is among the biggest flashpoints in U.S.-China relations, with America being the island's fiercest international backer.
Xi has said his country is seeking peaceful unification but has not ruled out using the military to bring Taiwan under control. U.S. officials have claimed Xi ordered his military to have the ability to invade by 2027, though others like Chang have predicted an attack will take place sooner.
In 1979, Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act, which mandates that the United States provide the island with defensive weapons. If China were to attack Taiwan, it is not immediately clear what the United States would do. Typically, the U.S. would attempt to deter Beijing from invading and strongly discourage Taiwan from retaliating or provoking the situation further by declaring independence. But if military aid is needed, America's sagging recruitment numbers could be a problem.
"Our armed forces are shrinking in size and capacity," Thomas Spoehr, director of the Heritage Foundation's Center for National Defense, said Monday. "The current crisis in military recruiting qualifies as a direct threat to U.S. national security."
Spoehr said the stark situation is fueled by "a strong labor market paired with non-competitive compensation, a declining number of Americans qualified for service, concerns about politicization, a fear of injury, and a general decline in patriotism felt by young people combined with a lack of familiarity with the military."
He added that presidents facing layered issues that threaten national security usually start working on a solution but slammed the Biden administration for focusing on less pressing matters, "ranging from the overarching national security strategy to more narrow plans, such as the nation's cybersecurity strategy, and, my favorite, the Near-earth Object Hazards, and Planetary Defense Strategy."
"The danger from the military recruitment crisis is one that is more immediate than, say, hazards from space," Spoehr said.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
He added that most Americans are in the dark about the deep deficiency in recruitment, which he also blames on the Biden administration.
"Other than the individual military services furiously racing to turn around recruiting trends, the White House and senior Pentagon leaders have been silent on the issue, not giving a single speech or interview on the topic," he said. "Ditto the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Veteran’s Affairs or Labor — all of which can and should play roles in recruiting solutions. Meanwhile, the military continues to shrink."