Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has called for the building of strong border, sea and air defenses to protect the country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime interests, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
Border, sea and air defense is an important symbol of China’s sovereignty, and a key guarantee for the country’s development, Xinhua cited Xi as saying on Tuesday at a so-called collective study session of the Chinese Communist Party’s politburo.
Such collective study sessions, often conducted a month or two apart, offer clues to the thinking and priorities of China’s top political leadership.
Photo: Reuters
A few days after a study session in July last year, Xi appointed a new head of the armed force overseeing China’s conventional and nuclear missiles. The appointment by Xi came on the eve of the 96th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Aug. 1.
The June study session focused on party governance and corruption. Last month, the party removed former Chinese minister of national defense Li Shangfu (李尚福) and former PLA Rocket Force commander Li Yuchao (李玉超) from the party for corruption.
“We must coordinate the promotion of border, sea and air defense construction and the economic and social development of border and coastal areas,” Xinhua cited Xi as saying at Tuesday’s study session, ahead of the 97th PLA anniversary.
China must also be more empowered technologically, and must build “new means and conditions” as it strengthens its border, sea and air defenses, he said.
The Chinese government increased its this year’s defense budget by 7.2 percent, in line with the rate in last year’s budget and again well above the Chinese government’s annual economic growth forecast.
Tensions have risen in the past few years over Taiwan and elsewhere in East Asia, particularly in the South China Sea where Beijing and Manila have increasingly clashed over maritime claims.
The US pledged funding of US$500 million on Tuesday for the Philippines’ military and coast guard in a show of support for Manila as it faces Chinese actions in the South China Sea.
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