Western Theater Command

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Western Theater Command
Western Theater Command
Simplified Chinese	西部战区
Traditional Chinese	西部戰區
showTranscriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xībù zhànqū

The Western Theater Command is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army of China since 2016.

Its jurisdiction includes Sichuan, Tibet, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Chongqing.^[1] Guizhou is also sometimes listed as part of the command.^[1] Its current commander since December 2020 is General Zhang Xudong.^[2] Its political commissar is General Wu Shezhou.

In May 2016, the PRC raised the rank and status of its western to widen its scope for missions and combat preparedness, in a move analysts in Beijing said was aimed in part at fortifying the border with India.^[3] The Xinjiang Military Command may also be elevated in the future, the report said. Both commands are under the newly created Western Theater Command, the largest of five newly reorganised military regions of the PLA. The Party-run Global Times reported the change would allow the command “to shoulder more combat assignments”.

The Western Theater Command's air forces included the 6th, , , and , 4th Transport Division and the . In 2012 the 109th Aviation Regiment was reorganised as a brigade reporting to the PLAAF's .^[4] It now flies the Shenyang J-11 fighter.

Area of Responsibility (AOR)[]

Western Theater Command's Area of Responsibility (AOR) consists of India, Central Asia, Western Mongolia, Pakistan and Afghanistan

See also[]

• Western Theater Command Ground Force
• Western Theater Command Air Force
• East, Central and Western Command LAC, of India
• China–India relations
• Line of Actual Control
• List of People's Liberation Army Air Force airbases
• List of Indian Air Force stations
• Sino-Indian border dispute
• Indo-Tibetan Border Police
• India-China Border Roads

References[]

Further reading[]

• Kenneth Allen, Dennis J. Blasko, John F. Corbett (February 4, 2016). "The PLA's New Organizational Structure: What is Known, Unknown and Speculation (Part 1)". The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved February 27, 2016.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Kevin McCauley, Snapshot: China’s Western Theater Command, China Brief Volume: 17 Issue: 1, Jamestown Foundation, 2017.
• Rupprecht, Andreas: Flashpoint China, Chinese air power and regional security; Harpia Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9854554-8-4, 2016 [2]