How capable is PAP (People's armed police) for war? They are supposed to help PLA in wartime. Are they as capable as US national guard which can be considered a type of reserve force.
Can PAP operate heavy weapons like Tanks, artillery? Do they have an air component that can fly jets?
I notice that China has a very low number of reserves (500k) which is very low compared to US, Russia. US can augment their reserves with National guard which also has air national guard component which can also augment their air force.
In total war type scenario, China's low reserve and augmentation forces could be a problem since they will lack well-trained reserves that can operate sophisticated weapons like tanks, jets and ships.
You seems to be familiar with the enlistment policy of the US so I will go with that.
Unlike US enlisted personnel who do 4 years of active duty per contract, Chinese enlisted personnel only do 2. And after the first contract, if they choose not to reenlist or failed to compete for a reenlistment quota (Because all reenlisting personnel will be immediately promoted to NCOs), they will have to leave the active duty component. From there some will be transferred to the reserve component (Another difference compared to the US military: you can't enlist as a reserve personnel. One CAN, however, enlist as a MILITIA, but that is a different thing), and the rest will be discharged.
As a result, on the one hand, the junior enlisted members in the active duty side are being replaced rapidly. On the other hand, there is a massive amount of former enlisted members in the society who are not registered reserves, but are still suitable for enlistment.
In general, I don't think China have to worry about lacking enlisted reserves in a toral war scenario.
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