China's army to stay under CPC control

China's 2.8 million strong People's Liberation Army, the world's largest standing military, would continue to be part of ruling Communist Party of China, and resolutely oppose any attempt to separate from it, a military official said on Tuesday.

The country will resolutely oppose any erroneous ideas about the depoliticisation of the country's army, Wang Yongsheng an official of the General Political Department of PLA told the media in Beijing.

"The PLA was founded by, and is under the leadership of, the CPC, and CPC's absolute leadership over the army is the army's fundamental system and principle," state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.

Wang said some people in other countries criticise China's military system.

That criticism spreads some erroneous ideas, including ideas that the army should be depoliticised and have no party affiliations, or that the army should be nationalised.

Some even suggest the Party should end its leadership of the army, he said.

"Those ideas have ulterior motives. We will resolutely oppose them," Wang said.

The PLA has been vociferously asserting that it would remain under party structure ever since the issue figured in the microblog discussions.

The issue came up ahead of this year's party congress which would elect a new leadership replacing the present set of leaders headed by President Hu Jintao, who is also the party's general secretary.

Wang said that the CPC's leadership over the state and the army has been established through the revolutionary period and practices.

It has also been written into the Constitution.

"Our army belongs to the Party, but it also belongs to the state and to the people," he said.