Sunday 14 March 2010
Streamline stockpiles to get rid of ‘scrap’ gear, PLA commander says
A PLA deputy to the National People’s Congress has called for a major shake-up of the way that the military sources and maintains equipment stockpiles, to prevent stores being filled with outdated gear that is “only good for scrap”.
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Streamline stockpiles to get rid of ‘scrap’ gear, PLA commander says
Will Clem
13 March 2010
A PLA deputy to the National People’s Congress has called for a major shake-up of the way that the military sources and maintains equipment stockpiles, to prevent stores being filled with outdated gear that is “only good for scrap”.
Hu Yishu, commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s regional logistics base in Wuhan, said there should be greater flexibility in stockpiling and that the PLA should integrate its reserves with national civilian stockpiles for greater efficiency.
He lodged a proposal at the NPC on Wednesday to establish a formal mechanism to allow army units to sell off surplus non-lethal equipment to private companies or transfer it for use in disaster relief.
“In the military we have a number of reserve materials that have a set expiry date, but when they reach that age limit, their basic functions are still fine, and they can be used,” Hu told China National Radio. “This includes our construction equipment, our vehicles, vehicle parts, or even our oil, our stores of military rations, medicines and so forth.
“Some reserves could be pushed on to the marketplace when they reach a specific age. This could reduce the economic loss of depreciating reserves.”
Hu’s proposals would blur the rigid distinction between civil and military national reserves. He argued this would increase efficiency. While weaponry stores would be unaffected, he said sharing “ownership rights” of goods where there was an overlap would provide flexibility.
“The everyday ownership rights would be separate and clear on the accounts, but its use is all for the nation, and military reserves are also the nation’s,” he said. The two reserves should complement each other, Hu said.
“The national [civil] reserves cover a broader scope, while military reserves can respond more quickly to a crisis,” he said. “The majority of national reserves end up in the marketplace, and good use of the market system means they can have a quicker renewal process. Military reserves are more secure and reliable.
“If we can manage to integrate these two systems and set up a very good mechanism ... we could have a breakthrough.”
He said it was necessary for the military to maintain large stockpiles in case of war, but there was no system to ensure they were well managed and up to date. Relief work after recent natural disasters had enabled the military to deploy some of its ageing reserves, but he said this “didn’t use up much”.
“There is still a considerable amount in long-term storage, some of which is only good for scrap,” Hu said. “And the quantity of this scrap is not small. We shouldn’t wait until things are scrap and can’t be used. If we sell things as scrap or dispose of them as rubbish, this is a great loss.”
Setting up an official channel for army surplus goods could have the unintended benefit of cutting down on corruption. It is an open secret that surplus uniforms, helmets and military accessories are available in backstreet stores, although most of the military equipment in shops is, in fact, replicas.
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