The Western Theater Command ()is one of the
five theater commands of the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
, founded on 1 February 2016.
Its jurisdiction includes
Sichuan,
Tibet,
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
,
Ningxia,
Qinghai,
Xinjiang,
Shaanxi,
Yunnan,
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
.
is also sometimes listed as part of the command.
Its current commander since August 2021 is General
Wang Haijiang
Wang Haijiang (; born July 1963) is a general ('' Shangjiang'') of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), currently serving as commander of Western Theater Command since August 2021. He previously served as commander of Xinjiang Military District, ...
. Its current political commissar is General
Li Fengbiao
Li Fengbiao (; born October 1959) is a general ('' Shangjiang'') of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). He is the current political commissar of the Western Theater Command, one of the five military regions of the People's Liberation Army. He is ...
.
In May 2016, the PRC raised the rank and status of its western
Tibet Military Command 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.
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
Chinese Communist Party-run tabloid ''
Global Times'' reported the change would allow the command “to shoulder more combat assignments”.
In 2012 the 109th Aviation Regiment was reorganised as a brigade reporting to the PLAAF's
Urumqi Base. It now flies the
Shenyang J-11 fighter.
Area of Responsibility (AOR)
Western Theater Command's Area of Responsibility (AOR) consists of
India,
South Asia,
Central Asia, Western
Mongolia,
Pakistan and
Afghanistan
Organizational structure
The Western Theater Command consists of the following components:
*
Western Theater Command Ground Force
*
Western Theater Command Air Force
The Western Theater Command Air Force is the air force under the Western Theater Command. Its headquarters is in Chengdu, Sichuan. The current commander is Wang Qiang and the current political commissar is .
History
On 1 February 2016, the fou ...
** 33rd Fighter Division
** 44th Fighter Division
** 6th Fighter Division
** 36th Bomber Division
** 37th Fighter Division
** 4th Transport Division
Official hymn
Released on 4 November 2020, the Western Theater Command released "The Battle Hymn of the Western Theater Command" () with lyrics written by the then commander of the Western Theater Command, General
Zhao Zongqi and music composed by Luan Kai.
See also
*
Western Theater Command Ground Force
*
Western Theater Command Air Force
The Western Theater Command Air Force is the air force under the Western Theater Command. Its headquarters is in Chengdu, Sichuan. The current commander is Wang Qiang and the current political commissar is .
History
On 1 February 2016, the fou ...
*
East, Central and Western Command LAC, of India
*
China–India relations
China–India relations ( zh, 中国－印度关系; hi, भारत-चीन संबंध), also called Sino-Indian relations or Indo–Chinese relations, are the bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the ...
*
Line of Actual Control
*
List of People's Liberation Army Air Force airbases
*
List of Indian Air Force stations
*
Sino-Indian border dispute
The Sino-Indian border dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute over the sovereignty of two relatively large, and several smaller, separated pieces of territory between China and India. The first of the territories, Aksai Chin, is administe ...
*
Indo-Tibetan Border Police
*
India-China Border Roads
India-China Border Roads (ICBRs, ICB Roads) is a Government of India project for developing infrastructure along the Sino-Indian border by constructing strategic roads, including bridges and tunnels. The ICBR project is largely in response to C ...
References
Further reading
*
* 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, , 201
{{Structure of People's Liberation Army Ground Force since 2017
Western Theater Command,
Theater commands of the People's Liberation Army
Military units and formations established in 2016
2016 establishments in China