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The posturing by China on the Senkaku Islands issue, for instance, suggests a state of readiness that could result in a call to arms at a moment's notice.
But an incident in late 2011 that was never publicly disclosed by China but uncovered by The Asahi Shimbun suggests the central leadership is being forced to re-evaluate recruitment to the People's Liberation Army/Navy.
The facts of the matter are this: Four soldiers deserted from their unit armed with automatic weapons and stolen ammo. A dragnet was set up and a fatal shootout followed. It emerged that the soldiers had racked up sizable gambling debts and armed themselves so they could rob a bank and become solvent again.
But as often happens in reporting on China, the gravity of the situation faced by security authorities at the time was not immediately apparent until long afterward.
On the morning of Nov. 9, 2011, police in Jilin province, northeastern China, issued an emergency notice to all financial institutions in the province.
It said, "Four soldiers armed with model 95 automatic rifles have stolen 795 rounds of ammunition and deserted their unit."
The soldiers, aged between 19 and 24, belonged to a unit based in Jilin city. Photos of the four men, along with their physical characteristics, were issued.
