Chinese generals urge PLA to expand navy as war risk rises
Generals call on military to shift focus from land forces to maritime power amid higher threats of conflict from several directions
Two senior Chinese military leaders have called on the People's Liberation Army to beef up its naval capacity and combat readiness amid a higher risk of "warfare on the doorstep".
In a 5,000-word article published on Friday in , the Communist Party's flagship mouthpiece, General Cai Yingting, commander of the PLA Nanjing military area command, and his political commissar General Zheng Weiping, said the PLA should learn lessons from the war with Japan that ended 70 years ago.
"There have been profound challenges from territorial disputes on our country's periphery, geopolitical competition among big powers, and ethnic and religious friction. Tensions in surrounding hot spots are also on the rise," the article said. "The risk of chaos and warfare on our doorstep has increased.
"We should be more vigilant … and put combat preparedness at the front of our minds."
The Nanjing command is one of the country's seven key major military regions and its key mission is to defend the East China Sea, where China and Japan claim sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan.
