Beijing: If threats emanating from Russia of a nuclear bomb being used to subdue Ukraine were not enough, China added to global peace and stability with a call to the Army to prepare for war.
President Xi Jinping, reappointed as general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and head of Central Military Commission (CMC) — overall high command of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) — for a third five-year term by the party’s Congress last month, inspected the joint operations command centre of CMC on Tuesday, reported PTI.
In his address, Xi said the entire military should devote all its energies to towards combat readiness, enhance capability to fight and win, and effectively fulfil its missions and tasks, Xinhua reported.
The Chinese President instructed PLA to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and complete various tasks entrusted by the party and the people.
He also said the focus has to be on realising PLA’s centennial goal to make it a world-class armed force by 2027 — on a par with the US armed forces.
“We must do all we can to make this happen,” he said.
Retired Air Force General Xu Qiliang, commenting on Xi’s address to the military, said that the PLA must prepare for a rapid transformation from peace to wartime.
“Always maintain a high readiness posture like arrows on a taut string ready to go, to ensure that the troops are prepared to fight at all times,” Xu was quoted as saying by Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
