Chinese President Xi Jinping this week called on his country’s forces to strengthen their preparedness for war, state media reported on Saturday, just days after Beijing conducted large-scale military exercises around Taiwan.
Xi made his remarks while visiting a brigade from the Chinese Army‘s Missile Force on Thursday, according to the state-run CCTV channel.
“The army should comprehensively strengthen training and war preparedness, and ensure that the forces have solid combat capabilities,” Xi said, the channel reported.
“Soldiers should enhance their strategic deterrence and combat capabilities,” Xi added.
China considers the autonomous island of Taiwan an integral part of its territory, stressing its intention to restore it, even by force if necessary.
On Monday, Beijing deployed fighters, drones, warships and coast guard boats in a simulation of encircling Taiwan, in the context of the fourth large-scale exercises it has conducted in more than two years.
Xi said on Thursday that the Chinese military should “firmly protect the country’s strategic security and basic interests,” according to CCTV.
The differences between Beijing and Taipei go back to the long and bloody civil war waged by the Communists, led by Mao Zedong, against the nationalists of the Kuomintang Party, led by Chiang Kai-shek.
After their defeat at the hands of the Communists who established the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the Nationalists took refuge in Taiwan, which has since had its own government, army, and currency.
Last updated: October 19, 2024 – 18:35
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