Western Theater Command

Western Theater Command
西部战区
Founded	1 February 2016; 8 years ago (2016-02-01)
Country	People's Republic of China
Allegiance	Chinese Communist Party
Type	Theater Command
Role	Command and control
Part of	People's Liberation Army
Headquarters	Chengdu, Sichuan
Website	Official website (in English)
Commanders
Commander	General Wang Haijiang
Political Commisar	General Li Fengbiao
Chief of Staff	General Zhang Jian
Insignia
Sleeve insignia

The Western Theater Command (Chinese: 西部战区; pinyin: Xībù zhànqū) is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 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 August 2021 is General Wang Haijiang.^[2] Its current political commissar is General Li Fengbiao.

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.^[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 Chinese Communist Party-run tabloid Global Times reported the change would allow the command “to shoulder more combat assignments”.^[3]

Area of Responsibility (AOR)

Map of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with disputed areas claimed by China shown in blue.

Map of Tibet Autonomous Region with disputed areas claimed by China shown in blue.

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
  • 33rd Fighter Division
  • 44th Fighter Division
  • 6th Fighter Division
  • 36th Bomber Division
  • 37th Fighter Division
  • 4th Transport Division^{[citation needed]}

Official hymn

Released on 4 November 2020, the Western Theater Command released "The Battle Hymn of the Western Theater Command" (Chinese: 西部战区战歌; pinyin: Xībù zhànqū zhàngē) with lyrics written by the then commander of the Western Theater Command, General Zhao Zongqi and music composed by Luan Kai.^[4]

List of leaders

Commanders

English name	Chinese name	Took office	Left office	Notes
Zhao Zongqi	赵宗岐	February 2016	December 2020
Zhang Xudong	张旭东	December 2020	June 2021
Xu Qiling	徐起零	June 2021	August 2021
Wang Haijiang	汪海江	August 2021	Incumbent

Political commissars

English name	Chinese name	Took office	Left office	Notes
Zhu Fuxi	朱福熙	February 2016	January 2017
Wu Shezhou	吴社洲	January 2017	June 2021
Li Fengbiao	李凤彪	June 2021	Incumbent

See also

• Western Theater Command Ground Force
• Western Theater Command Air Force
• Territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China
• List of People's Liberation Army Air Force airbases

References

1. Sumit Ganguly; Andrew Scobell; Joseph Chinyong Liow, eds. (2017). The Routledge Handbook of Asian Security Studies. Routledge. ISBN 978-1315455631. Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
2. "Chinese President Xi appoints new General for PLA's Western Theatre Command amidst Ladakh standoff". economictimes. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
3. "Eye on India, China raises Tibet military command rank | Central Tibetan Administration". tibet.net. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
4. "[军事报道]西部战区官方公众号上线 首日推出《西部战区战歌》" [[Military Report] "Western Theater War Song" was launched on the first day of the official public account of the Western Theater]. China Central Television (in Chinese). November 4, 2020.

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.
• 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 [1]