President Xi Jinping reviewed the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in the South China Sea Thursday morning, saying that the need to build a strong navy "has never been more urgent than today."

 

习近平主席周四检阅了中国人民解放军南海海军，他表示建设强大的人民海军的任务“从来没有像今天这样紧迫”。
 

 

The navy review is the largest of its kind in the People's Republic of China since its founding in 1949.

 

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for efforts to build a first-class navy.

 

Taking part in the review were more than 10,000 service personnel, 48 vessels¹ and 76 aircraft. They included the aircraft carrier Liaoning and latest submarines, vessels and fighter jets. More than half of the vessels were commissioned after the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

 

At around 9 a.m., Xi boarded the missile destroyer Changsha and sailed to where the review was to be conducted.

 

It started at about 10 a.m. after Xi gave the order.

 

Xi made a speech after the review, saying that it has always been China's aspiration² to have a strong navy, which serves as a key guarantee to achieve the great rejuvenation³ of the Chinese nation.

 

He pledged to speed up the modernization⁴ of the navy.

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