民兵是不脱产的群众武装组织，是人民解放军的助手和后备力量。民兵担负参加社会主义现代化建设、执行战备勤务、参加防卫作战、协助维护社会秩序和参加抢险救灾等任务。民兵建设注重调整规模结构，改善武器装备，推进训练改革，提高以支援保障打赢信息化条件下局部战争能力为核心的完成多样化军事任务能力。民兵组织分为基干民兵组织和普通民兵组织。基干民兵组织编有应急队伍，联合防空、情报侦察、通信保障、工程抢修、交通运输、装备维修等支援队伍，以及作战保障、后勤保障、装备保障等储备队伍。

三、捍卫国家主权、安全、领土完整

　　中国武装力量的根本任务，是巩固国防、抵抗侵略、保卫祖国。中国武装力量的多样化运用，坚持以国家核心安全需求为导向，着眼维护和平、遏制危机和打赢战争，保卫边防、海防、空防安全，加强战备工作和实战化演习演练，随时应对和坚决制止一切危害国家主权、安全、领土完整的挑衅行为，坚决维护国家核心利益。

The militia is an armed organization composed of the people not released from their regular work. As an assistant and backup force of the PLA, the militia is tasked with participating in the socialist modernization drive, performing combat readiness support and defensive operations, helping maintain social order and participating in emergency rescue and disaster relief operations. The militia focuses on optimizing its size and structure, improving its weaponry and equipment, and pushing forward reforms in training so as to enhance its capabilities of supporting diversified military operations, of which the core is to win local wars in informationized conditions. The militia falls into two categories: primary and general. The primary militia has emergency response detachments; supporting detachments such as joint air defense, intelligence, reconnaissance, communications support, engineering rush-repair, transportation and equipment repair; and reserve units for combat, logistics and equipment support. 

III. Defending National Sovereignty, Security and Territorial Integrity

The fundamental tasks of China's armed forces are consolidating national defense, resisting foreign aggression and defending the motherland. Responding to China's core security needs, the diversified employment of the armed forces aims to maintain peace, contain crises and win wars; safeguard border, coastal and territorial air security; strengthen combat-readiness and warfighting-oriented exercises and drills; readily respond to and resolutely deter any provocative action which undermines China's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity; and firmly safeguard China's core national interests.

　　保卫边海防安全

　　中国有2.2万多公里陆地边界和1.8万多公里大陆海岸线，是世界上邻国最多、陆地边界最长的国家之一。中国有500平方米以上的岛屿6500多个，岛屿岸线1.4万多公里。中国武装力量对陆地边界和管辖海域实施防卫、管辖，维护边海防安全的任务复杂繁重。

　　陆军边海防部队驻守在边境、沿海地区及海上岛屿，担负着守卫国(边)界、沿海海岸和岛屿，抵御防范外敌入侵、蚕食、挑衅，以及协助打击恐怖破坏、跨境犯罪等防卫与管理任务。边海防部队坚持以战备执勤为中心，强化边境沿海地区重要方向和敏感地段、水道、海域防卫警戒，严密防范各类入侵、蚕食和越境渗透破坏活动，及时制止违反边海防政策法规和改变国界线现状的行为，适时开展军地联合管控、应急处突等行动，有效维护边境沿海地区的安全稳定。中国已与周边7个国家签订边防合作协议，与12个国家建立边防会谈会晤机制。人民解放军边防部队与俄罗斯、哈萨克斯坦、蒙古、越南等国边防部门开展联合巡逻执勤、联合管控演练等友好合作活动。与哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、俄罗斯、塔吉克斯坦等国每年组织相互视察活动，监督和核查边境地区信任措施落实情况。

Safeguarding Border and Coastal Security

With a borderline of more than 22,000 km and a coastline of more than 18,000 km, China is one of the countries with the most neighbors and the longest land borders. Among all China's islands, more than 6,500 are larger than 500 square meters each. China's island coastline is over 14,000 km long. China's armed forces defend and exercise jurisdiction over China's land borders and sea areas, and the task of safeguarding border and coastal security is arduous and complicated.

The border and coastal defense forces of the PLAA are stationed in border and coastal areas, and on islands. They are responsible for defense and administrative tasks such as safeguarding the national borders, coastlines and islands, resisting and guarding against foreign invasions, encroachments and provocations, and assisting in cracking down on terrorist sabotage and cross-border crimes. The border and coastal defense forces focus on combat-readiness duties, strengthen the defense and surveillance of major directions and sensitive areas, watercourses and sea areas in border and coastal regions, maintain a rigorous guard against any invasion, encroachment or cross-border sabotage, prevent in a timely fashion any violation of border and coastal policies, laws and regulations and changes to the current borderlines, carry out civil-military joint control and management, and emergency response missions promptly, and effectively safeguard the security and stability of the borders and coastal areas.