The PLA at Home and Abroad - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

earthquake to that which would be done by a nuclear
weapon and argued that the task of mobilization for
earthquake relief under those conditions was similar
to, and in some respects more difficult than, mobilization
in wartime. 47
Others argued that the participation of various
units in earthquake relief was a variety of joint operations,
and thus bore directly on the PLA’s efforts to
develop its joint operations capability for combat operations,
or suggested that the PLA’s use of aerial reconnaissance,
airborne remote sensing, and other advanced
techniques in the earthquake relief operation
brought to mind the American use of satellites, airpower,
and special ground forces in Kosovo, Afghanistan,
and Iraq. 48 But while acknowledging the importance
of MOOTW, some commentators emphasize
that training for and participation in MOOTW must
always be done with an eye to building the PLA’s core
national defense capabilities, and that training and
carrying out MOOTW should be assigned to regular
and specialized PLA units that are not already heavily
burdened with national defense duties. 49
LESSONS LEARNED: MASS INCIDENTS
Response to mass incidents is another facet of the
Chinese military’s responsibilities for MOOTW. By
“mass incidents,” the Chinese authorities mean largescale
demonstrations, which have the potential to develop
into violent stand-offs between crowds of demonstrators
and the authorities, or violent attacks on
government organs, factories, or other property. Mass
incidents have been an increasing problem throughout
the reform era. Wang Erping, of the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences’ Institute of Psychology, cites
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