‘Prepare For War, Stay On High Alert,’ Xi Jinping Asks Chinese Troops

It was not clear if Xi's rallying the troops is aimed at India or the US as China is engaged in a tense standoff with both the countries.

China passed a law seeking to make Islam more compatible with socialism. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP) /

New Delhi: Amid ongoing border dispute between India and China in Ladakh, Chinese President Xi Jinping has asked the soldiers in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to put be prepared for war. At a time when the seventh round of the Corps Commander talk between the two neighbours ended in a deadlock, Jinping asked his army to put all ‘its minds and energy on preparing for war.’ As per a report in Xinhua, Jinping made these remarks while visiting a Marine Corps base in the Guangdong province, where he made an important speech. ‘Xi Jinping pointed out that we must put all our minds and energy on preparing for war and maintain a state of high alert,’ the report said. This was Xi's first visit to the headquarters of the Marine Corps, which was overhauled in 2017 and became part of the PLA Navy during the military reform launched by him in 2015, state-run China Daily said in a report. In his interaction with the Marine Corps commanders, Xi asked them to concentrate on fostering their troops' combat preparedness and stay on high alert. More realistic battle training must be carried out to enhance skills and more efforts should be made to innovate in terms of combat theories, training methods and task planning, he said. "And ensure that the troops are absolutely loyal, absolutely pure, and absolutely reliable," Xi told the troops. Xi also called for carrying on the "red gene" and creating a spirit "that is not afraid of hardship and death". It was not clear if Xi's rallying the troops is aimed at India or the US as China is engaged in a tense standoff with both the countries. Watch report here:  After the seventh round of military level talks, Indian Army said that the discussions were positive, constructive and had enhanced understanding of each other’s positions. According to sources, the Indian side remained firm on its demand for an early and complete disengagement of troops by China from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh.