Chinese president asks military for more real combat training

The Chinese president urged the military to step up “true combat” training amid tensions over Taiwan and to put pressure on the island after three days of training, state television CCTV reported on Wednesday.

The military must “resolutely defend our territorial sovereignty and China’s maritime rights and interests, and maintain the overall stability of our neighborhood,” French AFP news agency quoted Xi Jinping as saying.

Xi’s comments were made on Tuesday during a visit to the Southern Command in Zhanjiang, in the southwest of Guangdong province, near Hainan Island, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

China considers Taiwan a province that has yet to be reunited with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

The island, now home to 23 million people, has since lived autonomously, but Beijing claims sovereignty and threatens to take it by force if it declares independence.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was in the United States last week, where she met with Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.

Beijing regarded the meeting as a provocation.

In response, the Chinese military organized military exercises around Taiwan.

The exercise, which ended on Monday, involved warships, fast missile boats and fighter jets.

The comments, broadcast by CCTV, without explicitly mentioning Taiwan, are the first from a Chinese leader since the military exercise.

Taiwan has been at the center of contention between China and the United States, the island’s main ally and arms supplier.

China is dissatisfied with the rapprochement between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States in recent years, despite the absence of official relations between Taipei and Washington.

Last summer, China conducted unprecedented military maneuvers around Taiwan and fired missiles in response to a visit to the island by Nancy Pelosi, McCarthy’s predecessor in the House of Representatives.

Xi’s comments also coincided with the start of the largest joint U.S.-Philippine military exercise.

The two historic allies are using the exercise to strengthen coordination to counter China’s influence in the region.

The Philippines’ proximity to Taiwan could make the Southeast Asian nation a key US partner in the event of a Chinese invasion of the island.

In early April, the Philippines announced the location of four new military bases that could be used by the US.

One of these bases is located near the disputed South China Sea, and the other is located near Taiwan.

China criticized the deal for “undermining regional peace and stability.”