Season for Foreign Policy Realism Comes Into Focus in Asia, as Communist China Appears To Be Readying for War

Beijing’s parliament weighs mandating military drills for middle school pupils. Is that a signal that it’s readying for war?

AP/Mark Schiefelbein
Xi Jinping takes his oath after being unanimously elected as president during a session of China's National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, March 10, 2023. AP/Mark Schiefelbein

Communist China’s rubber-stamp parliament is deliberating on revisions to the Law on National Defense Education that would mandate military drills for middle school pupils and incorporate defense studies in primary schools. It is a step toward the securitization of Chinese society not seen since Mao Zedong. It is, perhaps, a sign Beijing is readying for war. For the West it is a call for a more realist approach to foreign policy.

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