China Army plans to merge 7 military regions into two districts to better coordinate all the forces

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Defence & Security News - China
 
 
Thursday, January 2, 2014 11:02 AM
 
China Army plans to merge its 7 military regions into two districts to better coordinate all the forces.
China army plans to merge four of its seven military regions into two districts to better coordinate the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Second Artillery Corps in a future combat environment, reports the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Shimbun, citing a source from the People's Liberation Army.
     
China army plans to merge four of its seven military regions into two districts to better coordinate the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Second Artillery Corps in a future combat environment, reports the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Shimbun, citing a source from the People's Liberation Army.
Chinese army (PLA: People's Liberation Army) Military Regions in 2006
     

The source claims that the Jinan, Nanjing and Guangzhou military regions will be spared as they are necessary regarding any potential escalation of conflict over the disputed East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. However, the Beijing, Shenyang, Lanzhou and Chengdu military regions will be merged into two, reducing the country's seven military regions to five.

In addition to the integration of military regions, the PLA will also establish a joint operation command within each of those five military regions to coordinate all combat units from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Second Artillery Corps together in a potential conflict. This will enhance the flexibility of the PLA forces in combat, the Yomiuri Shimbun said, adding that the new policy will not only modernize the command system of Chinese military, but will also allow the Air Force and Navy to play important roles in any battle.

The source told the paper that this military reform will be completed in next five years following in line with the establishment of the new air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea. Once the Air Force and Navy are fully integrated into this new command structure, the PLA will be able to launch successful anti-access or area denial strategy against the United States and its regional allies, the paper said.