China’s People’s Liberation Army Begins Annual Training Cycle, Focuses on Taiwan, Threatens Japan
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said Xi Jinping’s 2026 New Year message energized the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and reinforced their commitment to China’s modernization goals.
He stated that the military will study and implement Xi’s guidance by strengthening political loyalty, advancing reform, technology, and personnel development, and accelerating integrated military modernization through mechanization, informatization, and intelligent technologies.
Zhang went on to claim that the aim is to boost combat readiness and build strategic capacity to defend China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests while moving toward the goal of a world-class military.
The term “China’s sovereignty” is used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to justify the forcible annexation of Taiwan.
A blockade and invasion of the island nation have become the focus of many People’s Liberation Army training scenarios.
The People’s Liberation Army began its annual 2026 training cycle on January 4 with large-scale combat drills integrating air, naval, ground, rocket, and support forces under realistic wartime conditions.
The exercises emphasize rapid transition from peacetime to combat readiness, joint-force integration, and command coordination, reflecting Beijing’s focus on high-intensity, multi-domain warfare amid rising regional competition.
The drills incorporated the military’s most advanced weapons and systems, including J-20 stealth fighters, Type 055 destroyers, DF-17 hypersonic missiles, and unmanned systems.
The Hong Kong Garrison also held a mobilization ceremony on January 4 to launch its training year, integrating Army, Navy, and Air Force units stationed in the territory.
In addition to providing a training opportunity, the drill also serves to remind the people of Hong Kong that they are subjects of Beijing and should not entertain any illusions of independence or autonomy.
Ground forces training centered on live-force small-unit combat, with the 79th Group Army conducting assaults using integrated unmanned systems.
These exercises combined reconnaissance drones, bomb-dropping drones, smoke-laying drones, and FPV loitering munitions alongside robotic platforms, illustrating a doctrinal shift toward “intelligentized warfare” in which unmanned systems act as force multipliers in close and urban combat.
Units conducted live-fire integration exercises designed for battlefield flexibility and adaptability.
China has confirmed the operational deployment of its new Type 19 8×8 wheeled armored fighting vehicles with frontline units following the release of training footage by state broadcaster CCTV.
The video shows units from the 149th Medium Combined Brigade of the 76th Group Army conducting maneuvers during the opening phase of the PLA’s 2026 annual training cycle.
The Type 19 is an advanced evolution of the earlier Type 08 family and reflects the PLA’s shift toward more mobile, modern wheeled armored formations.
Variants include infantry fighting and assault versions armed with either unmanned 30mm turrets or a 105mm gun.
The infantry fighting variant features a remotely operated turret equipped with a 30mm cannon, coaxial machine gun, and anti-tank guided missiles.
The vehicle combines high-strength steel and modular composite armor, offering protection against small arms fire and improved mine resistance at a combat weight of roughly 25 tons.
Training emphasized rapid deployment, infantry-vehicle coordination, and combined maneuver operations in open terrain under winter conditions consistent with western China’s geography.
Naval drills were conducted by a destroyer group sailing from Qingdao and included complex ship handling, live-fire gunnery against surface and coastal targets, decoy-assisted firing, anti-frogman defense, and emergency navigation scenarios such as power loss and hull breaches.