Xi says China must strengthen training for ‘actual combat’: state media

BEIJING      -     China’s President Xi Jin­ping called on the coun­try’s armed forces to “strengthen military train­ing oriented towards ac­tual combat”, state broad­caster CCTV reported Wednesday.

Xi’s comments, made on a naval inspection trip on Tuesday, come shortly after three days of military drills by Chi­na’s People’s Liberation Army intended to intim­idate Taiwan.

China launched the mili­tary drills in response to a visit last week by Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States, where she met a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

Xi on Tuesday told the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command Navy that the military must “resolutely defend China’s territori­al sovereignty and mari­time interests, and strive to protect overall periph­eral stability”, CCTV re­ported.