A meeting of the Central Military Commission on reforming China's armed forces was held from Tuesday to Thursday, which will kick-start the comprehensive structural reform and strengthening of China's military. A series of moves, including shaking up military zones and setting up joint operation command structure, have reflected profound adjustments.

It is widely believed among military commentators that this is real reform with widespread and in-depth influence.

There is only one center of the reform - fighting capacity. Everything that is in favor of it will be kept and enhanced, while anything that is not connected with combat capability, and especially that can disrupt it, will be adjusted, compressed or even canceled. Overall troop numbers in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will be cut.

The military's combat capabilities will be more capable of safeguarding both national and people's interests after the reform.

With the deepening of China's overall reforms as well as the rise of its national power, China has been gradually growing into a world strategic force. It is getting increasingly closer to the frontier of global geopolitics. China stands firmly for peaceful development. But the supportive role of military power to the country's position on the world stage has become more and more important.

The PLA has made critical contributions to China from times of war to the new era of peaceful construction. Yet it is not the most prominent advantage in the comprehensive national strength. China has already become the world's second-largest economy, but its military is not regarded as  the world's second-strongest. After nearly 30 years of peaceful development without engaging in wars, the deterrence of the nation's armed forces needs to be refreshed.

China has felt increasing strategic pressure from the Pacific, where provocative military actions happen from time to time. Tensions have been raised in the South China Sea and in the East China Sea.

Some outside powers are building up the momentum of the rebalance to Asia strategy through stretching its military presence. China emphasizes the need to solve conflicts through peaceful means.

The stronger our military power is, the more seriously any related parties will take this principle.

Compared with the 1980s and 90s, China's military strength has grown much stronger, but it also faces more security risks as its influence expands. Becoming stronger is our only choice. In addition to upgrading military equipment, the command system also needs to be modernized. Changing the mechanism is more difficult than changing equipment, as the former involves a large number of personnel.

An overall reform like this might take more determination, effort and courage than fending off provocations from the outside. An army which decisively carries out such a large-scale reform will be bound to step forward when our national interests are violated. Therefore, this renewal of China's armed forces reform is also a silent declaration against the backdrop of an increasingly complicated international security situation.