For the first time, China has announced the number of military exercises it will hold this year, in order to improve transparency and highlight its determination to safeguard the country's core interests, observers said.

The People's Liberation Army will conduct around 40 military exercises in 2013 to improve its combat abilities and help soldiers fully prepare for war, according to the Military Training Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters.

The army will put China's key security-related interests in a more prominent position and will strengthen live-ammunition and confrontation exercises, said the statement, which was released by the department on Tuesday.