Push Admin

China's Xi says army must 'dare to fight' during military inspection

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) rides in an open-top limousine to review a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People" s="" Republic="" of="" in="" October="" EPA-EFE="" WU="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/07/06/20230706-xi.png"/><figcaption>Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) rides in an open-top limousine to review a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People&#x27;s Republic of China, in Beijing, China, 01 October 2019.<em> EPA-EFE/WU HONG</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday the country&#x27;s military must &quot;dare to fight&quot;, state media reported, as he inspected forces operating in a flashpoint region near Taiwan.</p><p>Xi&#x27;s visit comes during a flurry of diplomacy with the United States -- Taiwan&#x27;s main security backer -- with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen currently in Beijing for talks aimed at stabilizing economic ties.</p><p>China views self-ruled Taiwan as part of its own territory and has vowed to bring the island under its control one day, by force if necessary.</p><p>During an inspection of the People&#x27;s Liberation Army&#x27;s Eastern Theatre Command, Xi told military representatives that they should &quot;dare to fight, be good at fighting, and resolutely defend national sovereignty (and) security&quot;, state broadcaster CCTV reported.</p><p>&quot;At present, the world has entered a new era of turbulence and change, and our country&#x27;s security situation has become more unstable and uncertain,&quot; CCTV quoted Xi as saying.</p><p>&quot;It is necessary to deepen war and combat planning... focus on military training for actual combat, and accelerate the improvement in our capacity to win,&quot; Xi reportedly said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/05/23/chinese-vessels-blocked-ph-coast-guard-ships-off-ayungin-shoal-official">Chinese vessels block, carry out dangerous maneuvers vs PCG ships</a></li></ul><p>The military &quot;must... raise party committee leaders&#x27; capacity for preparing for war and doing battle&quot;, he added, according to the broadcaster.</p><p>Footage broadcast by CCTV on Thursday evening showed Xi in a khaki military dress shirt entering a room of rapturously applauding military officials before making remarks from a podium.</p><p>China and the United States have butted heads in recent years over the status of Taiwan, with Beijing holding large-scale military exercises in response to a visit to the island by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last year.</p><p>In April, Chinese forces conducted three days of drills simulating a blockade of the island after Pelosi&#x27;s successor, Kevin McCarthy, held talks with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen in California.</p><p>Yellen&#x27;s visit comes after another top US official, Antony Blinken, raised concerns about China&#x27;s &quot;provocative&quot; actions towards Taiwan during a visit to Beijing last month -- the first such trip by a US secretary of state in nearly five years.</p><p>But China batted away the comments, with top diplomat Wang Yi saying there was &quot;no room to compromise&quot; on the issue.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2709770" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

China views self-ruled Taiwan as part of its own territory and has vowed to bring the island under its control one day, by force if necessary.