Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited the communist People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on July 6 (Thursday), where he warned about rising geopolitical tensions off China’s coast and instructed officers to improve their “planning of war and combat” and conduct more training so as to “raise the forces’ capabilities to fight and win.”
The visit was reported by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouthpiece Xinhua.
The Eastern Theater Command is headquartered in Jiangsu Province, and is one of five military commands established under Xi’s leadership in 2016.
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Xi said that “the armed forces must have the courage and ability to fight, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests,” as stated by Xinhua.
The Eastern Theater Command, which was formed from the now-abolished Nanjing Military Region, covers the central-southeastern Chinese coast, and would play the major role in the event of a war over Taiwan.
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In particular, Xi told the PLA cadres that “military issues must be considered and handled from a political perspective.”
The PLA is the armed wing of the CCP.
Communist Chinese air and naval forces have routinely harassed and probed Taiwan’s defenses. The CCP considers the island of 23 million a part of Chinese sovereign territory and has made “reunification” — whether by peaceful means or military action — a central political goal.
