Russia vs. China
Military
| Russia | China | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: Ground Troops (Sukhoputnyye Voyskia, SV), Navy (Voyenno-Morskoy Flot, VMF), Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily, VKS); Airborne Troops (Vozdushno-Desantnyye Voyska, VDV), and Missile Troops of Strategic Purpose (Raketnyye Voyska Strategicheskogo Naznacheniya, RVSN) referred to commonly as Strategic Rocket Forces, are independent "combat arms," not subordinate to any of the three branches Federal National Guard Troops Service of the Russian Federation (National Guard (FSVNG), Russian Guard, or Rosgvardiya): created in 2016 as an independent agency for internal/regime security, combating terrorism and narcotics trafficking, protecting important state facilities and government personnel, and supporting border security; forces under the National Guard include the Special Purpose Mobile Units (OMON), Special Rapid Response Detachment (SOBR), and Interior Troops (VV); these troops were originally under the command of the Interior Ministry (MVD) Federal Security Services Border Troops (includes land and maritime forces) (2021) | People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (PLAN, includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force (PLAAF, includes airborne forces), Rocket Force (strategic missile force), and Strategic Support Force (information warfare, cyber, space forces); People's Armed Police (PAP, includes Coast Guard, Border Defense Force, Internal Security Forces); PLA Reserve Force (2021) note(s): the PAP is a paramilitary police component of China's armed forces that is under the command of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and charged with internal security, law enforcement, counterterrorism, and maritime rights protection in 2018, the Coast Guard was moved from the State Oceanic Administration to the PAP; in 2013, China merged four of its five major maritime law enforcement agencies - the China Marine Surveillance (CMS), Maritime Police, Fishery Law Enforcement (FLE), and Anti-Smuggling Police - into a unified coast guard |
| Military service age and obligation | 18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; one-year service obligation (Russia offers the option of serving on a two-year contract instead of completing a one-year conscription period); reserve obligation for non-officers to age 50; enrollment in military schools from the age of 16, cadets classified as members of the armed forces (2019) note: in April of 2019, the Russian government pledged its intent to end conscription | 18-22 years of age for selective compulsory military service, with a 2-year service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4% of GDP (2020 est.) 3.9% of GDP (2019) 3.8% of GDP (2018) 4.2% of GDP (2017) 5.4% of GDP (2016) | 1.7% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.9% of GDP (2019) 1.9% of GDP (2018) 1.9% of GDP (2017) 1.9% of GDP (2016) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 800,000 total active duty troops (350,000 Ground Troops, including about 40,000 Airborne Troops; 150,000 Navy; 150,000 Aerospace Forces; 60,000 Strategic Rocket Forces; 90,000 other uniformed personnel (special operations forces, command and control, support, etc.); est. 200-250,000 Federal National Guard Troops (2020) | information varies; approximately 2 million total active duty troops (est. 1.0 - 1.1 million Ground; 250,000 Navy/Marines; 350-400,000 Air Force; 120,000 Rocket Forces; 150-175,000 Strategic Support Forces); est. 600-650,000 People's Armed Police (2020) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the Russian Federation's military and paramilitary services are equipped with domestically-produced weapons systems, although since 2010 Russia has imported limited amounts of military hardware from several countries, including Czechia, France, Israel, Italy, Turkey, and Ukraine; the Russian defense industry is capable of designing, developing, and producing a full range of advanced air, land, missile, and naval systems; Russia is the world's second largest exporter of military hardware (2020) | the PLA is outfitted primarily with a wide mix of older and modern domestically-produced systems heavily influenced by technology derived from other countries; Russia is the top supplier of foreign military equipment since 2010, followed by France and Ukraine; the Chinese defense-industrial sector is large and capable of producing advanced weapons systems across all military domains; it is the world's second largest arms producer (2020) note: the PLA is in the midst of a decades-long modernization effort; in 2017, President XI set three developmental goals for the force - becoming a mechanized force with increased information and strategic capabilities by 2020, a fully modernized force by 2035, and a worldwide first-class military by mid-century |
| Military deployments | est. 3,000-5,000 Armenia; est. 1,500 Belarus; est. 7,000-10,000 Georgia; est. 100-200 Central African Republic; est. 500 Kyrgyzstan; est. 1,500 Moldova; est. 3,000-5,000 Syria; est. 5,000-7,000 Tajikistan; est. 25,000-30,000 Ukraine (includes Crimea) (2020) note(s): since November 2020, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the area in and around Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a truce agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan; fighting erupted between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September of 2020 as of the Fall of 2020, a Russian Government-backed private military company was assessed to have about 2,000 personnel in Libya supporting Libyan National Army forces; in addition, there were approximately 2,000 Russian-backed Syrian fighters in Libya Russia contributes approximately 8,000 personnel to CSTO's Rapid Reaction Force | 425 Mali (MINUSMA); 225 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 320 Sudan (UNAMID); 420 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 1,000 South Sudan (UNMISS); up to 2,000 Djibouti (Jan 2021) |
Source: CIA Factbook
