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Minnie Chan

Liu Zhen

The strategic eastern Shandong Peninsula, home to China’s North Sea Fleet, will come under the PLA’s newly established Central Theatre Command, after much deliberation over whether it should take on the task of protecting the capital, sources say.
President Xi Jinping, who heads the Central Military Commission, appointed commanders of five new theatre commands on Monday, bringing to an official end the People’s Liberation Army’s decades-old organisational structure.
READ MORE: China’s ground troops ‘still vital for defence and maintaining stability’ after People’s Liberation Army’s massive military overhaul
But the government has yet to reveal the zoning of the new commands, comprising the Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Central commands. Mainland media have published differing reports of the rezoning.
To equip the commands for integrated modern warfare, each command will have its own army, navy, air force as well as missile forces, according to Beijing-based military expert Li Jie.


Sources of graphic: China Defence White Paper 2013, China Military Power Report 2015 by US Department of Defence and SCMP
Note: Figures calculated using simple addition of troop numbers based in former military regions

A source close to the former Jinan Military Command – which oversaw Shandong and Henan as a strategic back-up force for the former Beijing Military Command – said the Jinan command was to have been part of the Northern Theatre Command, but plans changed.
Another source close to the navy, who had access to an internal document on the commands, told the South China Morning Post that the Jinan command was assigned to the Central Theatre Command because of geostrategic considerations.
The Central command would comprise the former Jinan and Beijing commands, where the PLA’s major ground forces were stationed, the source said.
Taking over the North Sea Fleet, based in the Shandong city of Qingdao, would equip the Central Theatre Command with the all-round combat ability to defend the Bohai Sea, thus allowing it to better protect the national capital, Beijing, and the port of Tianjin.
“Such an arrangement is strategically important, because in history, invaders’ navies always saw the Bohai Sea as a springboard towards the heart of the Qing empire,” the source said.
The Northern Theatre Command would be made up of the former Shenyang military region and forces from part of the Beijing command that oversaw Inner Mongolia.
With naval forces to be stationed in the Liaodong peninsula, the command would be in charge of challenges from Russia, North Korea and part of Japan.
“As the North Korean nuclear crisis escalates, the Northern command will have increasingly heavier tasks,” the source said.

Home to the East Sea Fleet in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, the former Nanjing military region will become the Eastern Theatre Command. The army, navy and air force already operate jointly in the area, which faces Japan across the East China Sea and Taiwan across the strait.
The Southern Theatre Command, made up of the former Guangzhou military region, will focus on the South China Sea, with the South Sea Fleet headquartered in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province.
The new system guarantees that each command can go into battle at any time
Li Jie, military expert
As it will deal with disputes with China’s Southeast Asian neighbours, forces based in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, under the former Chengdu military region, will also come under the Southern command. Yunnan and Guizhou are located near Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and other Southeast Asian nations.
Military expert Li Jie said the Eastern and Southern commands would probably get top commanders for their navy and air force as the commands had the task of handling significant maritime issues.
READ MORE: D-Day for PLA: China launches new theatre commands in drive for modern military
The Western Theatre Command, headquartered in Chengdu, Sichuan province, will cover about half of China’s land territory. It will manage a third of the country’s ground forces, according to the source close to the navy.
The Western command will oversee Xinjiang and Tibet. It will also handle issues with China’s South Asian neighbours such as India and Afghanistan. Without a coastline to guard, the command is the only one without naval forces.
“With most commanders coming from the land forces and with war experience, the new system will guarantee that each command can go into battle at any time,” Li said.


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Xi Jinping

China’s North Sea Fleet put under Central command to help safeguard the capital: sources

(160201) -- BEIJING, Feb. 1, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping (L, front), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, confers a military flag to Commander Song Puxuan and Political Commissar Chu Yimin of the Northern Theater Command in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 1, 2016. Xi on Monday conferred military flags on the five newly-established theater commands of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). (Xinhua/Li Gang) (mp)

(160201) -- BEIJING, Feb. 1, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping (C, front), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, confers a military flag to Commander Wang Jiaocheng and Political Commissar Wei Liang of the Southern Theater Command in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 1, 2016. Xi on Monday conferred military flags on the five newly-established theater commands of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). (Xinhua/Li Gang) (mp)

(100729) -- SANYA, July 29, 2010 (Xinhua) -- A warship launches missiles during a live-ammunition military drill held by the South China Sea Fleet of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in the South China Sea July 26, 2010. (Xinhua/Pu Haiyang) (wy)

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left, front) confers a military flag to Commander Song Puxuan and Political Commissar Chu Yimin of the Northern Theatre Command on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

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New | China’s North Sea Fleet put under Central command to help safeguard the capital: sources