Washington Post reports that China has created three new military bodies as part of reforms to modernize its military — the world's largest standing force — and improve its fighting capacity. State television on Saturday showed President Xi Jinping giving military flags to the leaders of the three new units — a general command for the People's Liberation Army, a missile force and a strategic support force. At the ceremony, which took place Thursday, Xi and PLA officers and soldiers sang the national anthem. Xi said the three new units were created as part of a modernization reform and "to realize the Chinese dream of a strong military." He has promulgated the idea of a "Chinese dream" involving "the great renewal of the Chinese nation" and sees a strong military as key to this.

New York Times reports that China rejected a protest from Vietnam over a flight test it has conducted on a new airstrip on a man-made island in the South China Sea, saying it is part of China's territory. Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said that the test flight violated Vietnam's sovereignty, breached mutual understanding and hurt the bilateral relations. "Vietnam resolutely protests Chinese above-said action and demand that China immediately stop, not repeat similar actions," he said in a statement. In a response Saturday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the test flight on the newly built airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands was carried out to find out if the new airfield met the standards for civil aviation. "Relevant activity falls completely within China's sovereignty," Hua said in a statement. "The Chinese side will not accept the unfounded accusations from the Vietnamese side."

New York Times writes: "From his graduate student dormitory in the southern city of Guangzhou, Yin Hao works late into the night with an online network of about half a dozen other volunteer translators. Their task: to post the American presidential debates, with Chinese subtitles."Watching the U.S. presidential debates is like watching a football match," said Mr. Yin, 29. "You see a lot of moves and tactics by the candidates, but eventually it all comes down to who scores." Mr. Yin, a confessed politics junkie, is a member of the Guojiang Subtitle Group, which brings together about 70 volunteers from across the country who produce Chinese subtitles for primarily American television shows. His decision to translate the debates was motivated by personal interest, he said, but it was also a response to Chinese people's desire to watch what he described as a "frenzy."