Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday demanded absolute loyalty from the military, using a highly-publicised speech to stress that the Communist Party was in charge of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) - and not the other way around.
Mr Xi also said while China does not invade other countries, it was confident its army could "defeat all aggressors".
"We will never allow any person, organisation or political party to separate any piece of land from China," he said in a speech at Beijing's Great Hall of the People to mark the 90th anniversary of the PLA.
"Mao Zedong once pointed out our principal is to have the Party command the military, not the military commanding the Party," he said, adding this was a "fundamental safeguard" and there shouldn't be "any doubt, hesitation or ambiguity".
Mr Xi made similar comments at a huge military parade held in Inner Mongolia on Sunday, which featured the Chinese president in fatigues, addressing 12,000 troops as tanks, jet fighters and nuclear weapons were put on display.
The show of military might came just three months before the 19th Party Congress, at which the top leadership team will be overhauled, with five of the seven current members due to retire.
Mr Xi is almost certain to remain General Secretary for a second five-year term, and a recent churn of senior Party positions working in favour of his close allies suggest he will have strong influence over the leadership team's make-up.
However, this is not assured, according to Ding Xueliang, a social science professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
"It is a very tough process to negotiate those personnel arrangements in the lead-up to the Party Congress and it is crucial for Mr Xi to have the army on his side," he said.
"That is why he is repeatedly emphasising army loyalty to the Party, which also means loyalty to the Party Chief."
"He needs to make sure of that if some important people in the bureaucracy are questioning his policies and his appointments."
Xi's emphasis on military loyalty comes as army officials have been targeted in the government's anti-corruption campaign. The PLA is also in the middle of a restructuring, which includes reducing the number of troops by 300,000. Both measures have faced opposition within the PLA, despite there being almost no public criticism.
"These people do not openly challenge Xi Jinping's clean-up of the army but there is opposition," said Mr Ding.
Mr Xi made no specific mention of any current conflicts during his hour-long speech on Tuesday, although his reference to safeguarding China's territory follows a few years of escalating tensions across the region.
Beijing ignored last year's international court ruling against its claims in the South China Sea, while relations with Japan, which administers islands claimed by China in the East China Sea, remain strained.
Meanwhile, China and India are engaged in a border stand-off in the Himalayas.
The Chinese President also made no comment about North Korea's nuclear ambitions or the pressure being applied on Beijing to resolve the situation. US President Donald Trump tweeted this week he was "very disappointed" in China after yet another missile test by the rogue state.
However, China's UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi told a news conference on Monday the US and North Korea "hold the primary responsibility to keep things moving, to start moving in the right direction, not China".
Mr Ding said that while international relations and tensions in the South China Sea, the East China Sea and on the Korean Peninsula were important, Mr Xi's domestic challenges were the number one priority.
