China updates military conscription rules with eye on space, cyberwarfare

China has updated its conscription laws to allow former soldiers to reenlist and increase investment in cyberwarfare and space expertise, The Guardian reported.

The revised rules went into effect on Monday after China’s state council and central military commission approved them.

The updated rules were made to provide “institutional guarantees for consolidating national defence and building strong armed forces,” state media reported, according to The Guardian. 

The amendments include measures to rapidly increase troop numbers by recruiting retired military members who will mainly be “supplemented by former active service units or similar posts.”

These former soldiers will take priority during recruitment and likely will reenter their original unit, the news outlet reported.

The revised regulations will also focus on recruiting individuals with cyber and space expertise, two emerging domains that Chinese President Xi Jinping is increasingly pushing for.

Last year, Xi called for China to rapidly develop and expand its military amidst rising tension with the U.S. over Taiwan.

“We will work faster to modernize military theory, organizational forms, personnel and weaponry and equipment,” Xi said. “We will enhance the military’s strategic capabilities for defending China’s sovereignty, security and development interests and see that the People’s Armed Forces effectively fulfill their missions and tasks.”

This also comes as U.S. lawmakers push for more cyber investment in Taiwan.

Last month, a group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced a bill that would boost cybersecurity collaboration between the U.S. and Taiwan to counter cyberattacks from China.

The bill, called the Taiwan Cybersecurity Resiliency Act, would require the U.S. Department of Defense to broaden and strengthen cybersecurity cooperation with Taiwan by conducting cyber training exercises, defending the country’s military networks, infrastructure and systems, and leveraging U.S. cybersecurity technologies to help defend Taiwan.

The lawmakers said in a statement that in 2019, Taiwan faced about 20 to 40 million cyberattacks every month originating from China, “some of which were later used against the United States.”

“Strengthening Taiwan’s military cyber capabilities is one of multiple measures needed to build Taiwan into a well-armed porcupine,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), one of four lawmakers co-sponsoring the bill.