Their Weapon

The harsh, warlike noises out of Peking last week were quite clearly intended to evoke American memories of the day when the Chinese Communists poured across the Yalu River in 1950. "You have been taught a lesson on this score in the Korean war!" cried Radio Peking in an unusual broadcast in English beamed to the U.S. "Do you want the lesson repeated in Indo-China?"

Aged Air Force. If Red China were to follow its words with action, the weapon it would employ would be its infantrymen--some 2,500,000. The Chinese, of course, have nothing to match the U.S. preponderance in naval and air power. China's biggest warship is an aged cruiser, now anchored in Shanghai Harbor as a training ship. In numbers of planes--2,900--Red China boasts the world's third largest air force, but it would not last long in combat, since the planes are largely Russian castoffs, and the air arm is handicapped by shortages of fuel and spare parts. As for nuclear potential, the Communists exploded a crude device last fall, and may be ready to try another test blast. But a sophisticated weapon--and the means of delivering it--is years away.

The best estimates indicate that China has 35 field armies, each numbering four divisions, or 40,000 men. The Chinese infantryman is armed with a stamped burp gun of a simple type that has a fast rate of fire but an exceedingly bad reputation for accuracy. He is most often a conscript and is carefully chosen.

The Mobile Colossus. As China's armed forces are now disposed, the heaviest concentration--roughly six armies--is opposite Formosa. Four armies are positioned along the North Korean border and another five spread west through Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. Three armies hold rebellious Tibet, and those massed in south China total seven--one guards vulnerable Hainan Island, another is stationed in mountainous Yunnan province, and three are lined up along the North Vietnamese border. Two other armies are in reserve near Canton.

Army morale is believed high. Over a four-year period, only seven or eight Red soldiers have defected along the enormous border running from Hong Kong to Pakistan. In recent years, more recruits have come from the cities than the rural areas because urban youths are more literate and thus better able to handle trucks, switchboards, radar, and all the other devices necessary to even a semi-modern army. This represents a calculated risk, since city youth are not so docile or amenable to discipline as farm boys are. Behind the front-line troops, China has around 12 million militiamen, some of whom are retired combat soldiers with training and experience. Others are soldiers who have done a tour of duty, then have gone back to homes or factories. Since about 500,000 men are demobilized yearly, there is always a good supply for militia duty.

When the Viet Minh were waging their bloody battle against the French, Red China constructed a road and rail network into North Viet Nam. Since then, blue-clad Chinese laborers have been hard at work on roads linking Yunnan and Laos. With the aid of these routes, the Red Chinese colossus is believed mobile enough to move twelve divisions--about 120,000 men--from China to Hanoi in a month's time.

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