A few days ago, a number of Chinese security groups held a meeting in Beijing, and foreign media analyzed that this was a signal that China wants to form a professional mercenary group.
In various international news, mercenary groups are not uncommon. If there is any mercenary group that is the most famous in recent years, it is the "Wagner" group, Russia's private military armed force.
Considering that in recent years, our interests abroad have been increasing, and at the same time, we have also been subject to a number of security threats from the local area. So does China need to form a Chinese "Wagner" to protect our overseas interests?
In safeguarding overseas interests, what advantages do professional mercenary groups have over our armed forces and armed police? Are these advantages worthy of our establishment of a mercenary group for this purpose?
1
How does the West use mercenary groups?
Different from the professional mercenary groups in Western countries, our related enterprises exist more in the form of security groups.
These groups are more like the darts we see in history or fiction than mercenaries. Their main task is to protect the transport of goods.
For example, in the past, some of our merchant ships would choose to hire security group personnel, so that they could ensure their own safety through some dangerous sea areas infested by pirates.
However, this type of business is very different from the business of a professional mercenary group.
Taking the Russian "Wagner" group as an example, in addition to shining on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield in the past two years, they are more often active in Africa, the Middle East and other places.
On the one hand, they act as intermediaries between the Russian government and local forces, and on the other hand, they also directly or indirectly crack down on anti-Russian armed forces and factions, clearing obstacles for Russia's layout on the ground.
They exist as an armed force that is not officially recognized by Russia, but works for it. This allows Russia to have more means and flexibility in its layout in Africa and the Middle East.
An armed force that does not need to bear the pressure of public opinion, but can really play an effective role, can play a very significant role in the geopolitical struggle.
The role played by the famous mercenary groups in the West, such as the Blackwater Company in the United States, is similar to that of the "Wagner" group.
There is a professional term called "white gloves", which in politics means the legal skin used to cover up some invisible means, very much in line with the role played by Western mercenary groups in geopolitics.
However, as far as China is concerned, we do not have the need to interfere in the politics of other countries, nor will we interfere in the politics of other countries. So what role can professional mercenary groups play for us?
2
Why do we need mercenary groups?
I don't know if you have noticed some news events? We have a lot of investment and construction projects overseas.
This is our economic cooperation with the local government in China to build various infrastructures, improve their local living standards, provide jobs and drive economic development.
However, due to many factors, such as the opposition forces of the local government, some extremist terrorist organizations, or the interference of some foreign powers, there are terrorist attacks against our investment and construction projects from time to time.
This will not only have an impact on the safety of our overseas staff, but will also cause losses to our overseas economic interests.
However, this kind of cooperation is a government-to-government and non-governmental cooperation, and it has no military color, and we cannot just send our army or armed police to garrison troops in the local area just to protect these projects, otherwise we will give people the handle and give the word to it.
However, the local government generally has a backward military strength and uneven personnel levels, and it is difficult to ensure the safety of Chinese investment projects by relying on their strength alone.
In this case, we need a professional mercenary force to protect our overseas investment projects.
Therefore, unlike the Western mercenary group, our mission for the professional mercenary group is to protect, not interfere.
We can promote the construction of specialization on the basis of our state-owned or private security enterprises, so that we can have multiple mercenary groups that can be used.
These mercenary groups are more rational and easier to protect overseas investment projects, and at the same time do not have other collateral political influences.
In contrast, if we choose to use the means of garrisoning troops to solve security problems, it will bring about a series of political and military problems, and it will involve the movement of our troops.
Long-term low-intensity deployment operations overseas will also have an impact on the combat effectiveness of the armed forces. Therefore, it is more appropriate to leave such a task to a professional mercenary group.
3
How to build a Chinese mercenary group?
So how do we build a professional mercenary group that belongs to China?
First of all, we must make it clear that such military forces must be subordinate to the command and dispatch of the state and cannot be subordinate to individuals.
Regardless of whether they are state-owned enterprises or private enterprises, their ultimate command and control should be in the hands of the state.
The rebellion of the "Wagner" group in early June this year is a profound and clear example for all countries that want to develop professional mercenary groups.
On this premise, we can rely on the existing domestic security enterprises to enhance their operational capacity training, and through cooperation with national security agencies, improve their equipment and training level.
At the same time, it is also very important and urgent to improve the relevant laws and regulations.
On the one hand, we need to bind the norms for the actions of these armed men who have armed forces abroad, and on the other hand, we need to give them sufficient rights to defend our interests abroad.
In this regard, we still lack a lot of relevant experience, including how professional mercenary groups should conduct business overseas, how should they coordinate with the local government, and how should they communicate and cooperate with our related enterprises?
On the one hand, we need to explore and study these issues, and at the same time, we must learn from the practical experience Xi of Russia and other countries.
As a world power, we must always let our armed forces go out.
The positioning of the Chinese military determines that we cannot always directly appear in foreign countries in the form of garrisons. Therefore, the task of protecting more and more of our overseas interests needs to be accomplished by other armed forces.
Those complicated security tasks should be entrusted to a professional mercenary group. As for the deployment of our armed forces overseas, we will focus on the stability and coordination of the overall situation.