The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) will have zero tolerance toward Taiwan independence moves, Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan has said..
New Delhi, Aug.1 : The People's Liberation Army (PLA) will have zero tolerance toward "Taiwan independence" moves, Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan has said..
Speaking at a reception to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese army, Cao said.the army would stop any activity that could lead to Taiwan "independence" in order to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Peaceful development across the Taiwan Straits is in the interest of not only Taiwan people and Chinese mainlanders, but also the international community," he added.
He also noted that the army should modernize and "informatize" further.
He urged the armed forces to continue their efforts in social development by participating in natural disaster rescue operations, building a socialist countryside, developing the western regions and helping other key national projects.
The 80th anniversary of the PLA is being marked by a new exhibition of Chinese military history in Beijing.
The PLA boasts 2.3 million soldiers, 800,000 reservists, and an armed police numbering 1.5 million. Given the tumultuous 20th century history of China and its neighbouring region, the army has played a key role in determining the course of the country.
The PLA began life as a rag-tag assemblage of fighters relying mainly on guerrilla tactics. Several decades later, China's army is in the process of wide-ranging modernisation with the aim of reducing its size while upgrading its technological prowess.
This year, Beijing announced an 18 per cent in military spending. The official figure for the military budget in this ongoing fiscal is said to be 44.94 billion dollars, but this has been disputed by both the United States and Japan. The Pentagon claims that the figure is more than 100 billion dollars, which China denies.
ANI