BEIJING, July 24-- China Monday urged India to immediately withdraw all troops that have illegally entered China, stating that the nation would defend its territorial sovereignty "at all costs." "The Chinese border troops have taken initial counter measures at the site and will step up targeted deployment and training," said Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference. Wu said the history of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the past 90 years has demonstrated its increasing capacities and unshakable determination to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. "It's easier to shake a mountain than the PLA," Wu said. His words immediately began to trend online. As Aug. 1, the birthday of the PLA, approaches, these words illustrated China's unswerving resolution to build a stronger army and guard the country's sovereignty. Highlighting military reform, law-based governance and international reform, the armed forces of China are ready to embrace their big day. MILITARY REFORM TO GO DEEPER "A significant goal of the current military reform is to improve the PLA's readiness for war and combat capabilities," Zhou Shangping, an official from the Joint Staff Department under the Central Military Commission (CMC), said at the press briefing. The PLA aims to reach that goal by straightening the relationship of command, enhancing the structure of the military and strengthening its combat forces, Zhou continued, addressing a journalist's concern that military reform might unsettle the army's readiness for war. |