In a continuous escalation, the President of China calls on the army to enhance training for "actual combat."

Following a three-day Chinese military exercise simulating an encirclement of the island of Taiwan, state broadcaster CCTV reported Wednesday that the Chinese president called on his country's armed forces to "strengthen military training for actual combat."

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on the country's armed forces to "strengthen military training for actual combat," state broadcaster CCTV reported Wednesday.

The call comes in light of rising tensions over Taiwan, and in the wake of a three-day Chinese military exercise simulating an encirclement of the island aimed at putting pressure on Taiwan.

China presented the military exercises as a "serious warning" to the island, after its president met with a senior US official last week.

The channel quoted Xi as saying that the military should "firmly defend our territorial sovereignty as well as China's maritime rights and interests, and maintain the overall stability of our neighborhood."

Xi made the remarks during his visit Tuesday to a naval base in southern China.

The island, which has a population of 23 million, is the subject of intense rivalry between Beijing, which claims sovereignty over it as one of its provinces, and Washington, a major ally and arms supplier to Taiwan.

China considers Taiwan a province that has not succeeded in reunifying it with the rest of its territories since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

China looks with displeasure at Taiwan's rapprochement in recent years with the United States, which provides significant military support to the island.

And last summer, China conducted unprecedented military maneuvers around Taiwan and launched missiles, in response to a visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the time.

Xi's remarks come at a time when the United States and the Philippines have launched the largest joint military exercises in their history, seeking to enhance coordination between them to counter China's influence in the region.

The proximity of the Philippines to Taiwan may make it a major partner in the event that China invades the democratic island.

And in early April, the Philippines announced that it would put four additional military bases at the disposal of the United States, including a naval base not far from Taiwan, which angered Beijing, which confirmed that such a move would "endanger regional peace and stability."