China finally was able to reorganize its seven military area commands into five new theater commands. The objective of the change is to improve the combat capabilities and enhance the response efficiency of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) via a joint command system as the Asian giant faces the challenges of a new era.
The five battle zone commands are according to strategic locations in the country’s west, east, south, north and central China. The current seven commands it is replacing are found in Guangzhou, Nanjing, Lanzhou, Shenyang, Beijing, Chengdui and Ji’nan Provinces, reported Global Times.
To mark the creation of the five theater commands, Chinese President Xi Jinping handed over a military flag to Zhao Zongqi, commander, and Zhu Fuxi, political commissar of the Western Theater Command on Monday in Beijing. During the flag-conferring ties, Xi – who chairs the Central Military Commission – told the newly appointed commanders and political commissars that as theater commanders, they are responsible to address security threats, safeguard peace, contain war and win battles in their strategic locations.
“Each theater command needs to focus on combat …. Enhance the training of joint operations and command, and seek to win the initiative in future wars,” the president said.
The creation of the theater commands is in accordance with the three-tier Central Military Commission (CMC) commands-troop system, explained Yang Yujun, spokesperson of the defense ministry. The CMC is the top command under the system, while theater commands could deploy different forces in the region to fight and military branches focus on training of their own troops.
Song Zhongping, a military expert based in Beijing, said that despite the lack of official details about the five theater commands, the western is expected to focus on counterterrorism, while the eastern and southern on threats from the east and South China Seas.
To head the Eastern Theater is Liu Yuejun, Southern Theater is Wang Jiaocheng, Northern Theater is Song Puxuan, Central Theater is Han Weigou and Western Theater is Zhao Zongqi, reported The Diplomat.