Less than a month ahead of the 96th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on August 1, President Xi Jinping conducted an inspection of the headquarters of the PLA Eastern Theater Command in Jiangsu Province, East China, on July 6. During the visit, he emphasized the need to focus on the goals for the PLA’s centenary in 2027 and advance the development and preparedness of theater commands.
This marked President Xi’s first inspection tour of the PLA Eastern Theater Command headquarters, as reported by media sources. In his capacity as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, President Xi urged vigilance against potential threats and emphasized the importance of fulfilling the combat duties assigned to theater commands. He acknowledged that China’s security situation faces growing instability and uncertainty, as the world enters a new era of turbulence and transformation.
President Xi stressed the necessity for the armed forces to possess both the courage and capability to defend national sovereignty, security, and development interests. He called for strengthening Party building across all areas and enhancing the leadership role of the Party committee in maintaining combat readiness.
China’s national security has encountered increasingly serious challenges, with the US military deploying its resources to compete with and contain China. The formation of alliances and cliques, such as QUAD and AUKUS, targeting China, along with the arming of Taiwan, provocation over the Taiwan question and the South China Sea issue, and alignment with India on the China-India border issue, have contributed to the establishment of a strategic encirclement around China.
Furthermore, new security challenges continue to emerge. The recent NATO Summit communiqué, released on July 11, focused significantly more on China than previous declarations. Japan reportedly agreed to an Individually Tailored Partnership Program with NATO, which will strengthen Japan-NATO collaboration. These developments suggest that the North Atlantic military alliance is expanding its presence into the Asia-Pacific region with a hostile stance towards China.
Considering conflicts in other parts of the world, such as the Ukraine crisis, analysts assert that the global security situation as a whole is deteriorating.
Warplanes of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conduct operations during joint combat training exercises around the Taiwan Island, Aug. 7, 2022. The Eastern Theater Command continued its joint combat training exercises as scheduled on Sunday in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island. Photo: Xinhua
Safeguarding territorial sovereignty
During Xi’s inspection of the Eastern Theater Command, he fully affirmed the significant contributions the command has made since its founding in safeguarding China’s territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests as well as national unity.
The Eastern Theater Command is the most direct and most important force facing the island of Taiwan.
It holds regular warplane and warship exercises and patrols near the island of Taiwan daily over the past several years in response to provocations by “Taiwan independence” and external interfering forces, including US arms sales to the island, US warship and warplane transits through the Taiwan Straits and US-led military exercises around the region.
A year ago when the PLA celebrated its 95th founding anniversary, it was a special moment when the PLA raised alert and prepared countermeasures, as then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi was about to make a provocative visit to the island of Taiwan. The Eastern Theater Command organized large-scale military exercises following Pelosi’s eventual landing on the island on August 2, which saw the island completely blocked by the PLA, with ballistic missiles flying over the island for the first time.
Following Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen’s provocative transit visit in the US and her meeting with US House speaker Kevin McCarthy this April, the Eastern Theater Command again conducted large-scale military exercises and combat patrols encircling the island of Taiwan.
The drills demonstrated the PLA’s firm will and strong capability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and thwart secessionist attempts by “Taiwan independence” and external interfering forces, Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the Naval Research Academy of the PLA, told the Global Times.
Zhao Xiaozhuo, a research fellow at China’s Academy of Military Sciences, told the Global Times that it showed that the PLA can form a blockade to cut off energy supply routes, reinforcement routes and escape routes of “Taiwan independence” forces, as well as their hopes for US military reinforcement. 
Amphibious armored vehicles attached to a brigade of the PLA Navy’s Marine Corps make their way to the beach-head during a maritime offense and defense training exercise recently. Photo:China Military
In the South China Sea, the US frequently sends warships and warplanes to carry out close-in reconnaissance on China, as well as deploys aircraft carrier strike groups to conduct targeted exercises. It also stirs up island and reef disputes in the region, rallying up countries like the Philippines for joint exercises and gaining more forward deployment bases.
Xi inspected the navy of the PLA Southern Theater Command on April 11, when he told the military to resolutely defend China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and strive to maintain the overall stability of the country’s neighboring regions.
Xi stressed strengthening training and combat readiness and accelerating transformation to boost the armed forces’ modernization levels on all fronts, calling on the armed forces to resolutely fulfill the duties entrusted by the Party and the people.
The armed forces should develop new types of combat forces and means and accelerate efforts to incorporate new equipment and new forces into actual combat capacity, Xi said.
Over the recent years, the PLA has commissioned new equipment and new forces including the Type 15 light tank, the Type 055 large destroyer, the J-20 stealth fighter jet with domestically developed engines and the DF-17 hypersonic missile in addition to a wide variety of unmanned equipment.
With the PLA’s centenary approaching, more new types of combat forces and means are reportedly under development or undergoing trials.
One of them is China’s third aircraft carrier, the 80,000 ton-class electromagnetic catapults-equipped Fujian, which was launched on June 17, 2022. After the smoothly going mooring trials, the Fujian is expected to carry out its first sea trial within this year, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times.
Photo:Xinhua
Combat readiness highlighted
In another inspection of armed forces on January 18, ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, Xi spoke with soldiers from several troops undertaking border defense, coastal defense, air defense, stability maintenance and emergency response duties via video link.
Xi spoke with soldiers at a border defense station in Khunjerab under the Xinjiang military command, soldiers from a patrolling Chinese navy formation, soldiers in an air force aviation brigade and soldiers from the Falcon Commando Unit under the armed police force.
Xi called on the military to fulfill their combat readiness duties and safeguard national security and social stability, so as to ensure that all Chinese people are able to have a happy and safe Spring Festival.
In all the three major inspections of military units this year, Xi stressed combat readiness.
At a time when China’s security situation is facing rising uncertainty and more challenges, being ready for combat is conducive to maintaining stability and creating certainty, experts said.