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CHINA’S MILITARY OVERHAUL: XI UNVEILS STRATEGIC SHIFT TO ENSURE VICTORY IN FUTURE CONFLICTS
China has unveiled its most significant military restructuring in nearly ten years, prioritizing technology-driven strategic forces geared for modern warfare as it competes with the United States for military dominance in a region marked by geopolitical tensions.
In a surprise move, Chinese leader Xi Jinping dissolved the Strategic Support Force (SSF), a military branch he established in 2015 to integrate the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) space, cyber, electronic, and psychological warfare capabilities, as part of a wide-ranging overhaul of the armed forces.
According to CNN’s news story Xi replaced the SSF with the Information Support Force, which he described as “a brand-new strategic arm of the PLA and a key element in the coordinated development and application of the network information system.”
Speaking at a ceremony last Friday, Xi emphasized the new force’s importance in enabling the Chinese military to “fight and win in modern warfare.”
During a news conference on the same day, a spokesperson for China’s Defense Ministry hinted that the SSF was effectively divided into three units—the Information Support Force, the Aerospace Force, and the Cyberspace Force—all of which will report directly to the Central Military Commission, the top body in the military chain of command chaired by Xi.
Under this new structure, the PLA now consists of four services—the army, navy, air force, and rocket force—alongside four branches: the three units formed from the SSF and the Joint Logistic Support Force, according to ministry spokesperson Wu Qian.
Experts on the Chinese military believe this reorganization enhances Xi’s direct control over the PLA’s strategic capabilities and underscores China’s ambitions to better leverage AI and other new technologies to prepare for what it terms “intelligentized warfare” in the future.
The restructuring follows Xi’s extensive anti-corruption campaign within the PLA last year, which implicated powerful generals and caused a shake-up in the rocket force, an elite branch overseeing China’s expanding arsenal of nuclear and ballistic missiles.
The Information Support Force will be led by top generals from the now-defunct SSF. Bi Yi, former SSF deputy commander, was appointed commander of the new unit, while Li Wei, the SSF’s former political commissar, will assume the same role in the Information Support Force, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.
No new appointment was announced for SSF commander Ju Qiansheng, who disappeared from public view last year amid a series of military purges before reappearing at a conference in late January.
Analysts suggest that the reorganization indicates that the SSF was not an ideal organizational format for the Chinese military.
“It shows that the SSF was not a satisfactory arrangement. It reduced Xi’s visibility of important functions and did not really improve coordination between space, cyber, and network defense forces,” said Joel Wuthnow, a senior research fellow at the Pentagon-funded National Defense University.
Before its dissolution, the SSF consisted of two main units—the Aerospace Systems Department, overseeing the PLA’s space operations and reconnaissance, and the Network System Department, responsible for cyber, electronic, and psychological warfare capabilities.
“I think the new structure will give Xi better visibility into what is happening in space, cyberspace, and network management. These functions will now be supervised at his level and not through the Strategic Support Force, which served as a middleman,” Wuthnow said.
The lack of such visibility could pose significant risks, especially during periods of heightened tension and deep distrust between Beijing and Washington.
Last year, the US shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon after it entered American airspace, causing a fresh crisis between the two powers and straining bilateral relations for months.
While US intelligence officials claimed the balloon was part of an extensive surveillance program run by the Chinese military, Xi may not have been aware of the mission.
US President Joe Biden stated last June that Xi was unaware of the balloon and was “very embarrassed” when it was shot down after drifting off course into American airspace.
James Char, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, noted that the SSF’s Aerospace Systems Department would have been responsible for strategic reconnaissance during the spy balloon incident.
“It was one of the roles and responsibilities of the PLASSF,” he said.
It remains unclear if the balloon incident influenced Xi’s decision to disband the SSF.
Wuthnow of the National Defense University suggested that the newly established Information Support Force would likely assume responsibility for communications and network defense for the PLA.
“Getting these things right is of huge importance for the PLA in any future conflict, and they have been paying close attention to these functions and probably drawing lessons for their own organization from the war in Ukraine,” he said, referring to Russia’s ongoing invasion of its neighbor.
“So it makes sense that the [Central Military Commission] chairman would want to play a more direct role in that area.”
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NIGERIAN WOMEN ACTIVISTS SUE MINISTER OF WOMEN AFFAIRS OVER ATTEMPT TO MISMANAGE $500M WORLD BANK LOAN
A lawsuit has been filed in the High Court of Enugu State by two women’s rights organizations against the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju Ken Ohanenye over the attempt to mismanage a $500 million loan provided by the World Bank to improve the lives of Nigerian women.
Other defendants included in the lawsuit are the President of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Minister of Finance, Wale Edun and Director of International Economic Relations Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr Nyeso Stanley George.
The applicants, Amb. Onyinye Joy Mamah, representing Heroine Women Foundation, and Amaka-Ajuzie Ogbu, of NET Bridge Empowerment Foundation, claimed that the previous $100 million loan from the World Bank, intended to empower impoverished Nigerian women, which was released during President Muhammadu Buhari’s government was allegedly squandered on consultancy fees, seminars, and other non-essential activities.
According to the plaintiffs, the funds never reached the intended beneficiaries who are poor Nigerian women.
The women’s activities said they are worried that the $500 million loan is at risk of suffering the same fate as the previous funds, being diverted into private pockets instead of being utilized for meaningful development projects.
Amb. Mamah, the lead plaintiff, emphasized in her affidavit that Nigerian women, who will bear the responsibility of repaying the loan, have not seen any tangible benefits from previous funds.
She warned that failure to utilize the current loan effectively could leave the country in prolonged economic servitude.
“That another 500 Million Dollars has just been provided by the selfsame World Bank for the benefit of the Nigerian women, it is not free manna from the Heavens but still a loan facility to be repaid with interest in due course of time by the teaming Nigerian populace.
“That the enemies of the people are circling again determined to divert the fund, away from the Nigerian women for whom the money is meant and into private pockets. A whole of 500 Million United States Dollars ploughed into useful and meaningful endeavors – agriculture, fishery, trading, making of crafts eic. wi: chase hunger, death, slavery insecurity, prostitution and other vices out of the land.
“It is the bounden responsibility of the respondents to ensure that this fund, intended for the empowerment of Nigerian women, is not misappropriated”.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to enforce the proper use of the $500 million loan for its intended purpose, arguing that Nigeria’s economic recovery, especially the dignity of its women, depends on it.
The plaintiffs argued that if the funds are mismanaged again, it will deepen Nigeria’s economic crisis and perpetuate the nation’s poor international reputation.
The court has yet to set a hearing date for the case.
- Ajube combs PDP structures for APC; pledges to fund election in Ondo South senatorial district
- we will reciprocate Ilaje’s 2023 support for Rep”-Agadagba-In-Council
Ahead of the November 16 governorship election in Ondo state, the Ijaw speaking Arogbo Kingdom on Sunday, boosted the chances of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the Kingdoms Traditional Council endorsed his candidature.
Governor Aiyedatiwa is also the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Arogbo Ijaw Kingdom’s endorsement came as Niger Delta Peace Ambassador and entrepreneur, Senior High Chief Bibopere Ajube pledged to fund the governors election in the six local government areas of the south senatorial district of Ondo state.
The Agadagba and Paramount Ruler of Arogbo Ijaw Kingdom, Pere(Barrister) Zaccheus Doubra Egbunu, Opukutu 111, who made the endorsement pronouncement said the decision hinges on the massive support the Ilajes gave to their son, Hon Donald Ojogo during the 2023 House of Representatives election.
“Our governor is our son in Arogbo Ijaw Kingdom because he is our closest neighbour. There is no way we will not give him maximum support especially as an Ilaje man.
“In Ijaw land, we value and reciprocate good gestures; we cannot forget in a hurry how the Ilajes mobilized hugely for our son, Hon Donald Ojogo to win the House of Representatives seat in 2023. For the very first time, an Ijaw man is in the Green Chamber. So it’s our duty, it’s an obligation for us to massively vote for this Governor who happens to be our Ilaje son”, the monarch said.
Ajube, who is the Pathfinder of Arogbo Ijaw Kingdom while playing host to Governor Aiyedatiwa at an elaborate ceremony where over 2,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defected to the APC pledged his commitment to fund the election
“Mr Governor, your election is our election and that of the president because it is the first governorship election in the Southwest since the 2023 presidential election that produced our own President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
“As such, it is of great consequence to the President, and we cannot afford to play with it. We will not disappoint our president and that is why we have demolished all the ward structures of the PDP in our Kingdom.
“So Your Excellency, just leave the six local government areas in the southern senatorial district of the state for me to provide the money. Just keep the little money you have for other senatorial districts. I have the capacity. I am an Ijaw man. We don’t deceive people. If we say, we will do something, don’t doubt it, we will do it.
The Governor, while receiving the defectors, appreciated them for joining the APC family of the true progressives where everyone’s voice counts. He thanked all the party leaders for their support and announced various initiatives of his administration aimed at improving the lives of the people of the state.
The Chairman of Arogbo LCDA, Hon Caleb Ebi Molos, in His welcome address, expressed appreciation to the Governor for his concern for Arogbo Kingdom and assured him of the total support of the people of Arogbo LCDA.
The event was attended by Hon Donald Ojogo, member of the House of Representatives representing Ilaje/ Ese-Odo Federal Constituency; Hon Agabra Atili, Deputy State Chairman of APC; Hon Toyin Allen, House of Assembly Member representing Ese-Odo State Constituency; Hon Samuel Twatimi, Head of the Ondo State Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme; Hon Kolade Akinjo, former member House of Representatives, among other leaders.
