Xi orders PLA to intensify combat awareness

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping has ordered the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to intensify its "real combat" awareness in order to sustain military readiness.

According to a press release issued by military authorities on Wednesday, Xi made the remarks during an inspection conducted from Dec. 8 to 10 at the PLA's Guangzhou military theater of operations, a term usually used to emphasize the coordination and joint operations by forces in air, land and sea.

By chairing the CPC Central Military Commission (CMC), Xi is also the commander-in-chief of China's armed forces, which, with 2.3 million enlisted personnel, is the largest in the world.

Xi asked PLA officers and non-commissioned officers to adopt real combat criteria in military training and intensify such awareness among soldiers.

Xi also reaffirmed the PLA's core task of improving its abilities to wage regional wars in the Information Age and conduct diversified military operations.

"Bear in mind that it is the soul of the military to obey the command of the Party without compromise, it is the top priority for the military to be able to combat and win battles, and it is fundamental that the military consolidate itself through governing the troops lawfully and austerely, so as to reinforce its development featuring loyalty to the Party, modernization and standardization," Xi told officers above the division level of the garrison troops in Guangzhou.

Wearing an army-green Mao suit during his inspection, Xi boarded a PLA Navy destroyer, the Haikou, and had dinner with sailors on the warship. He also examined an armored vehicle and observed a military drill.

Xi urged PLA officers and soldiers to maintain their loyalty to the CPC by studying and implementing the spirit of the CPC's 18th National Congress.

"The PLA should unconditionally implement the principles to govern the military lawfully and austerely, train the troops through strict discipline, always focus on grassroots units and further improve fighting capabilities," Xi said.

Xi urged the PLA to uphold the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, take Deng Xiaoping Theory, the "Three Represents" and the Scientific Outlook on Development as a guide, deeply implement the main theme and guideline on the development of national defense and the Army, and seriously implement the strategic arrangements on national defense made by the CPC's 18th National Congress.

He showed his firm belief that on the way to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the heroic PLA must carry forward the cause and forge ahead into the future and effectively implement the historic mission.

During his inspection, Xi was accompanied by the PLA's top brass including Gen. Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission and member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, and Wu Shengli, commander of the PLA Navy.