PLA sets up leading group to boost training

The People's Liberation Army has established a new leading group to supervise military training, the latest move in the drive by party secretary Xi Jinping to improve the combat readiness of the world's largest army.

The reported that the General Staff Headquarters will take the lead in the new group.

It will set up an administrative office and two subgroups to inspect troop training and education in military academies. All four wings of the PLA, its seven military regions and the armed police must establish corresponding organisations.

"This measure aims to make our training more practical, echoing Xi's repeated calls for building an army that can fight and win battles," said Qiao Liang , a major general in the air force and a commentator on military affairs.

A senior strategist with the Second Artillery Force, who declined to be named, said: "Our previous training was mostly based on the background of a peaceful [international] environment. But changes in the military situation in recent years have posed critical challenges. We must make more preparations for the possibility of coming battles.

"The better we are prepared, the lower the possibility of a real military conflict," he said.