Updated militia forces set for supporting role

As the earliest contributors to the revolution, the country's militia boast a history that is even longer than that of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which turned 80 yesterday.

But thanks to some recent adjustments, what was old is new again.

The militia have been upgraded from a simple reserve force for the army to backups for all three services. The change is part of the PLA's transition from a quantity-based, labor-intensive model to a technology-intensive one based on quality and efficiency.