Xi Jinping tells People’s Liberation Army to be ready to win regional war

September 26, 2014;

Saibal Dasgupta & Rajat Pandit, TNN | Sep 23, 2014, 04.01AM IST (Times of India)

BEIJING/NEW DELHI: Chinese president Xi Jinping has promoted three People’s Liberation Army (PLA) generals known to be close to him and also asked his troops to “improve their combat readiness and sharpen their ability to win a regional war in the age of information technology”.

Xi’s statement highlighted his unhappiness with the military and underlined the need “to improve efficiency of military command under new circumstances”.

While this is not the first time Xi has made such a statement, it has raised eyebrows as Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a high-altitude military face-off at Chumar in eastern Ladakh.

Reports said the promotions were ordered after XI summoned 15 top generals to Beijing on Sunday and spoke to them in PLA chief Fang Fenghui’s presence. Significantly, Xi also said military commanders should “have a better understanding of international and domestic security situations”.

“All PLA forces should follow the instructions of President Xi Jinping, also chairman of the central military commission (CMC), and update their operations to meet new goals and missions set by the CMC,” Xinhua news agency quoted an official statement as saying.

The statement highlighted the president’s unhappiness with the military and underlined the need “to improve efficiency of military command under new circumstances”.

Xi asked the PLA troops to improve their combat readiness and sharpen their ability to win a regional war. (Reuters photo)

“The meeting focused on streamlining the operational headquarters of all PLA forces with information technology and revised several important protocols.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunyin separately insisted on Monday that there was no need to have “unnecessary suspicion” on both sides on the border issue.

She said the leaders of the two countries have reached an important consensus on politically resolving the border issue through friendly mechanism.

“China and India have sufficient capacity and confidence to maintain peace and tranquility in the boundary areas,” she said.

The developments indicate the president, who is also the supreme commander of armed forces, is trying to further reinforce his authority.

Pull back your troops who have entered Ladakh, Modi tells Xi

The PLA had publicly vowed to accept the authority of the ruling Communist Party after Xi became its general secretary following his ascent to power last year.

Xi’s crackdown on corruption, which also targeted former military officers, is believed to have made his position unassailable in all sections of the country.