Xi Urges Chinese Army to Be Prepared for War

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the country's armed forces to step up military training for the possibility of "actual combat", in light of escalating tensions around Taiwan.

These remarks came after a three-day military exercise aimed at putting pressure on the island.

China considers Taiwan a province that has not succeeded in reunifying it with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, and Beijing considered the meeting that took place last week between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as a provocation.

In response, the Chinese army organized military exercises, in which warships, fast missile launchers, and combat aircraft participated.

The official CCTV channel reported Wednesday Xi Jinping calling the army to "firmly defend our territorial sovereignty, as well as China's maritime rights and interests, and maintain the overall stability of our neighborhood."

Xi made the remarks, which do not explicitly mention Taiwan, during his visit Tuesday to a naval base in southern China.