The Chinese military is taking a harder look at its bottom line, with officers stressing the need to keep costs in check as the PLA presses on with a massive modernisation campaign.
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“Our country’s economy is getting stronger, but the tasks of preparing for military struggle and transforming the army are arduous, and there are many places where funds need to be invested,” the armed police force in the eastern province of Shandong said in a commentary in the PLA Daily on Wednesday.
“Limited resources should be focused on war preparation and combat, new types of combat forces and urgently needed areas of combat effectiveness.”
Another commentary attributed to “Zhang Zikun” urged the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “not to do things that do not take into account the cost or affordability of the economic burden”.
“We must use the rate of contribution to combat effectiveness as a benchmark,” Zhang said. The PLA Daily did not specify Zhang’s affiliation, but previous reports suggest that he is an army officer.
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He added that the PLA should not only “monitor who spends the money, how much is spent, and whether it is spent according to the rules”, but also focus on whether the money was spent on “ensuring urgent operational needs, building needs, and promoting the improvement of combat effectiveness”.
He also called for “ensuring every penny is spent with maximum benefit”.