China flies flag for modern army
Print Edition
PRESIDENT Xi Jinping inaugurated a new general command unit, a missile force and a strategic support force for the People’s Liberation Army, at a ceremony in Beijing in Thursday.
Xi said the move to form the three units represented a major decision by the Communist Party’s Central Committee and the Central Military Commission to realize the Chinese dream of a strong military, and a strategic step in establishing a modern military with Chinese characteristics.
He described the PLA Rocket Force as a “core force of strategic deterrence, a strategic buttress to the country’s position as a major power, and an important building block in upholding national security.”
Xi urged the new unit’s personnel to “enhance nuclear deterrence and counter-strike capacity, medium- and long-range precision strike ability, as well as strategic check-and-balance capacity to build a strong and modern Rocket Force.”
Xi praised the PLA’s long history and military exploits. It played “an irreplaceable role in defending national sovereignty, security and development interests,” he said.
He called on soidiers to embrace honorable traditions, adapt to changing situations in the digital age and explore new patterns in land battles.
A new force in safeguarding national security, the PLA Strategic Support Force represents “an important growth point” of the Chinese military in modern war, Xi said.
Yesterday, the commission released a guideline on national defense and military reform, about a month after the president, who also its chairman, called for an administration and command system overhaul at a key meeting.
The overall goal is to achieve progress and concrete results before 2020 in military administration and joint operational command, optimizing military structure, enhancing policy systems and civilian-military integration, and building a modern military with Chinese characteristics that can win wars in the information age.
While 2015 was mainly devoted to the implementation of leadership management and joint operational command reform, the guideline said 2016 will see military cuts, improved combatant personnel and reform of military academies and armed police forces.
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