TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) on Thursday (July 6) called for "war preparedness" at the People's Liberation Army (PLA) theater command that would be the tip of the spear of any invasion of Taiwan.

Xi made the remarks while conducting an inspection of the headquarters of the PLA Eastern Theater Command in China's Jiangsu Province. As the military group's area of responsibility includes Fujian Province and the Taiwan Strait, it would shoulder much of the task of invading Taiwan, were Xi to give the order.

Beijing's state-run Xinhua and the China Daily, led with headlines such as, "Xi stresses breaking new ground for war preparedness." He was reported as saying the world has entered a "new period of turbulence and transformation" and China's "security situation is facing rising instability and uncertainty."

Xi urged "vigilance against potential dangers and all-out efforts to fulfill the duty of combat tasked with theater commands." Xi, who is chair of the Central Military Commission, called for "enhancing the planning of war and combat, strengthening the command system for joint operations, and stepping up training under real combat conditions to raise the forces' capabilities to fight and win."

Xi said China's military "must have the courage and ability to fight, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests." He closed by calling for the strengthening of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and ensuring that the theater command becomes "more capable of leading combat readiness, thus fully fulfilling tasks entrusted by the Party and the people."