Xi Jinping ordered the military command to “comprehensively strengthen preparations for war.”
Chinese state media reported on Saturday, October 19, that Chinese leader Xi Jinping called on troops to increase combat readiness. The publications appeared just a few days after the end of large-scale exercises by the Chinese army around Taiwan.
Agence France-Presse reports this.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, Xi Jinping gave orders to the military during a visit to a rocket brigade of the People's Liberation Army of China on Thursday, October 17. He said the army command should “comprehensively strengthen preparations for war and ensure reliable combat readiness for the troops,” and that soldiers need to “strengthen their strategic deterrent and combat capabilities.”
China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, has stepped up its show of force around the self-governing island in recent years, the publication notes. China's communist leaders have repeatedly said they would not rule out the use of force to retake Taiwan. In a speech to the military, Xi Jinping stressed that the PRC military must “resolutely safeguard the country's strategic security and core interests.”
Recall that on Monday, October 14, the Chinese army deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard vessels to encircle Taiwan. This is the fourth round of large-scale military exercises around the democratic island in the past two years.
The dispute between China and Taiwan dates back to the civil war in which Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist forces were defeated by Mao Zedong's communist forces and fled to the island in 1949. Since then, China and Taiwan have been governed separately.
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