China’s armed forces will gain a broader legal basis to draw on civilian people, property and infrastructure during a war when an updated National Defense Mobilization Law takes effect on Oct. 1. The revision defines when China can redirect economic and social resources toward defense, potentially giving the People’s Liberation Army access to far more than military-owned assets. Defense News reported the change based on details published by China’s state-controlled Global Times.

The revised law applies when China’s sovereignty, national unity, territorial integrity or development interests are considered threatened. Under that definition, national defense mobilization would shift resources under established legal procedures rather than relying only on emergency decisions made during a crisis. The change updates legislation enacted in 2010 and announced in late August.

Carl Thayer, an Asia specialist and emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales, said the law could allow China to mobilize men and women over age 18 and take control of commercial and private assets. The resources he identified include aircraft, ships, private land, satellite communications, cybersecurity systems and drone production. Those examples describe the potential reach of the legal framework, rather than a reported order to seize any particular asset.

The revision could matter most to Taiwan and the Philippines, whose armed forces are less heavily resourced than China’s, analysts said. A conflict involving Taiwan or the South China Sea could also draw the attention of Australia, Japan and the United States, which have security interests and treaty relationships in the region. Thayer said the change should alert defense planners in Washington and U.S. Pacific Command to China’s potential access to civilian human and physical resources.

Scholars cited in the report linked the timing to possible contingencies in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea, but the law does not identify a specific conflict scenario. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has increased military drills near the island since 2022. The United States has continued selling arms to Taiwan in case of a conflict, adding to tensions between Beijing and Washington.

The law also arrives amid disputes between China and several governments over the South China Sea. Beijing has expanded artificial islands and conducted military exercises to reinforce its maritime claims, while the Philippines has taken a more assertive position. Japan and the Philippines, both U.S. treaty allies, have tightened security ties as they assess China as a shared threat, according to an analysis cited in the report.

The immediate regional situation remains unsettled rather than openly at war. Jay Batongbacal, an associate professor and director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the University of the Philippines, said Chinese naval activity in the South China Sea had become widespread and reached large numbers even though the area had remained relatively calm over the preceding two months. He described the law’s timing as concerning but said China might see no need for mobilization if it already believes it controls the area.

Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center, said Taiwan and its supporters would have greater reason for concern. He characterized the measure as another signal that China is considering the practical requirements of a possible war over Taiwan, while also warning that it could be intended to discourage outside support for Taipei. That assessment is an analyst’s interpretation, not a stated Chinese decision to begin a conflict.

Foreign defense attaches had previously observed a large-scale mobilization exercise in Guangdong province in 2022, which they viewed as a possible blueprint for future mobilization. Roy said the legal revision could also reflect an internal directive to prepare the PLA for war without showing that Beijing has decided to go to war. The next concrete step is the law’s scheduled implementation on Oct. 1, when its new mobilization framework is due to take effect.