Ciao Zhao: What's cooking in the WTC?

Gen Zhang Xudong, new WTC Commander

Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) promoted four military and one armed police officer to the rank of full general (Three Star) in Beijing on December 18.
The new generals were presented Certificates of the Order promoting them to the rank of general by the Chairman; Three-Star general is the highest rank in the PLA.
The promoted officers are the Political Commissar (PC) of the CMC Logistic Support Department Guo Puxiao, the Commander of the Western Theater Command (WTC) of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Zhang Xudong, the Political Commissar of the PLA's Strategic Support Force Li Wei, and the new Commander of the People's Armed Police Force (PAP) Wang Chunning.
During the ceremony, Xu Qiliang, the CMC vice chairman, announced the orders of promotion signed by Xi and Xu’s colleague, Zhang Youxia presided over the ceremony. 

Ciao Zhao!

The Big News
The big news is that Gen Zhao Zongqi, who triggered the Doklam incident and probably started the present Chinese ‘misadventure’ in Ladakh seems now out of the picture.
If confirmed, this is certainly a good thing for India as Zhao has been a hardliner, wanted to teach India lessons. 

He is replaced by a rather unknown officer who has never set a foot in the WTC.
It is too early to say what it means for the future negotiations in Ladakh, but it probably indicates that Beijing will be more ‘flexible’.
Gen Zhang Xudong, who replaces Zhao has no experience of the Indian border; as a result he may follow what he will be told to do by the Central Military Commission (CMC) and his boss (Xi).
It might help Beijing to be more flexible on the border, particularly during the talks on the shores of Pangong tso; though ‘flexibility’ is not Beijing’s forte and whenever the Communist regime has been ‘flexible’ in the past, it was to better rebound.
Incidentally, it is the first time that a Commander of the WTC (and earlier the Chengdu and Lanzhou Military Regions) has no experience/knowledge of the Indian border.
It probably means that Chengdu, the WTC seat, will be sidelined and orders will come directly from the CMC and the PLA Army (Ground Force) in Beijing.

Gen Zhang Xudong, new WTC Commander

Who is Gen Zhang Xudong?
Zhang Xudong is the WTC’s 2nd Commander (in 2016, the Lanzhou and Chengdu MR were merged and became the WTC).
As mentioned, on December 18, 2020, Zhang was appointed to replace Gen Zhao Zongqi, the 'father' of Doklam episode.

Zhang’s Career
Gen Zhang is born in March 1962 in Liaoning Province.
Like all the PLA generals, he is from the Han Nationality.
He was promoted to the rank of major general in July 2012 and lieutenant general in July 2018
Zhang Xudong served in the Shenyang Military Region for a long time and was successively Commander of the 39th Group Army and the Chief of Staff of the 39th Army Group.
In early 2014, he succeeded Maj Gen Pan Liangshi and became commander of the 39th Group Army’s Ground Force.
At the time of the reforms in 2016, he was promoted deputy commander of the Central Theater Command (CTC) and later commander of the CTC’s Army (Ground Force). Subsequently, he became CTC deputy commander.
On October 1, 2019, he served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the military parade in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. He may have been noticed by the Emperor at that time.
When Zhang was transferred to Chengdu as WTC commander (probably a few weeks ago), Gen Zhao Zongqi had already crossed the retirement age since April 2020, (that is perhaps the reason why he started the Ladakh operations, hoping for a promotion in the CMC).
The question is why Gen Zhang, an officer without any experience of the WTC, particularly of the border with India, where one lakh of jawans are facing each other in the harsh Himalayan winter, was selected to replace Zhao Zongqui who had 20 years of experience in the Tibet Ministry District (TMD) and had walked every inch of the frontier.
Chairman Xi wanted probably to remove a hardliner who had already created trouble for the Emperor during the Doklam confrontation. It is one possibility.
It should be noted that Gen Zhang is not a member of the Central Committee or the National People's Congress. It means that he had no 'political' exposure like his predecessor.

Gen Li Wei, PC of the PLASSF

Other Promotions
Another promoted officer has been actively associated with the WTC and the Ladakh border; it is General Li Wei who is currently the third PC of the Chinese PLA Strategic Support Force (PLASSF).
Li is born in September 1960 in Jiyuan, Henan.
He was promoted to the rank of major general in July 2008 and lieutenant general in July 2016.
He is a representative of the 13th National People's Congress.
He has been the head of the cadre department of the Political Department of the Lanzhou Military Region and later the commander of the 6th Independent Mechanized Infantry Division of the Southern Xinjiang Military District (SXMD) facing Ladakh.
Contrary to Zhang Xudong, Li knows well the border with India.
In January 2007, he served as director of the Political Department of the 47th Group Army’s Ground Force and in 2010, became deputy PC of the 47th Army.
In October 2012, he was transferred as PC of the SXMD and a year later PC of the 21st Group Army’s Ground Force.
In December 2014, Liu Lei became the PC of the Xinjiang Military Region (XMD).
From July 2015, he served in and out as a member of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Party.
As a result of his transfer to the PLASSF, the XMD has no PC. A new incumbent will probably be announced in the coming weeks. This has to be watched.

Gen Wang Chunning

Other promoted generals
General Wang Chunning has become the 9th Commander of the People's Armed Police Force (PAP).
A native of Muping, Shandong, Wang is born in March 1963 in Nanjing. 

He was promoted to the rank of major general in 2011 and lieutenant general in July 2017.
He is the son of Wang Yongming, the former deputy PC of the former Nanjing Military Region.
He is an alternate member of the 19th Central Committee (CC) of the Communist Party of China.
He started working in July 1985 and joined the Communist Party in April 1986. He served as chief of staff, regimental commander, division chief of staff, deputy division commander, head of the equipment department of the First Army Group, and commanded the First Division.
In 2009, he became Chief of Staff of the First Army's Ground Force.
From 2010 to 2014, he was deputy commander of the First Army's Ground Force (during which he served as deputy chief of staff of the East China Sea Fleet of the Navy).
In 2014, he became commander of the 12th Group Army and in August 2016, commander of the Beijing Garrison (a deputy theater-rank post) and deputy secretary of the party committee.
From January to May 2020, he was a member of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal Committee.
In April 2020, he was transferred as Chief of Staff of the PAP. His promotion has been rather quick.

Gen Guo Pu

General Guo Puxiao
Guo Puxiao or Guo Pu is a native of Yaoxian County, Shaanxi; he is born in 1964.
He is a general of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).
He served as the PC of the Urumqi Air Force Command Post, PC of the 37th Air Division, and the director of the Political Department of the 15th Airborne Corps.
He has therefore a connection with the Ladakh border.
In 2014, he became PC of the 15th Army of the Airborne Corps and in 2017, served as deputy PC of the CTC and later PC of the CTC’s Air Force.
In July 2018, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.
In December 2019, he was transferred to the PC of the Logistics Support Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC).

 

Gen Xu Zhongbo

General Xu Zhongbo
The last promoted officer is Gen Xu Zhongbo
He is the second PC of the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF). He took over the post in July 2020.
He is born in October 1960 in Rushan, Shandong Province.
He was promoted to the rank of major general in 2010 and lieutenant general in 2017.
Xu Zhongbo joined the PLA in March 1978 and served as a soldier, typist, student, platoon leader, officer, deputy section chief and section chief of the brigade political organization, deputy director and section chief of the political organization of the group army, and director of the division political department.
In December 2003, he became PC of the 8th Brigade Artillery of the 26th Group Army and in September 2007, as PC of the 8th Armored Division of the Group Army.
In May 2009, he was transferred as Director of the Political Department of the Group Army and in 2013, promoted as PC of the 20th Army. In October 2014, Xu Zhongbo was transferred to the 54th Army.
In February 2016, he got a promotion and became PC of the WTC (Ground Force). 

In October 2017, he was elected as an alternate member of the 19th Central Committee.
From December 2017, he served as the PC of the Joint Logistics Support Force (JLSF) and in July 2020, became PC of the Rocket Army.

Some conclusions
Though it might be too early to draw definite conclusions, it is a fact that for the first time an officer without any first-hand knowledge of the Region/Command has taken over. It seems a deliberate choice by Chairman Xi.
With the transfer of Gen Li Wei, the XMD has no PC; further no news has come out on Gen Liu Wanglong, the XMD commander for a long time. Is he still around?

Another mystery, who is the PC of the SXMD?
Has Maj Gen Liu Lin (he should have been promoted Lt Gen since a long time to interact with the Indian Corps Commander) a counterpart PC in the SXMD?
Could the XMD and the SXMD function without PC?
All this is rather strange to say the least. 

What's cooking in the WTC? India should watch.

The Five promoted generals with the 7 CMC members

 

The Tale of Three Zhaos

Many of us have been introduced to Tibet by the famous cartoon The Adventures of Tintin.
One can’t forget the two detectives, Thomson and Thompson (in French, Dupond et Dupont). Though they are rather poor detectives (like Inspector Jacques Clouseau), they provide so comic relief to the reader..
These characters, who look like identical twins (despite their different, though sounding-same surnames), came back to mind, when I saw the picture of China’s two main detectives, Zhao Leji and Zhao Kezhi attending a session with the Tibetan delegates at the 13th National People Congress (NPC).
Zhao Leji is the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, (CCDI) the party's top anti-corruption body. He is also a member of the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee.
Zhao Kezhi is Minister and Party Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security; in other words, he is responsible for the security in the Middle Kingdom. As mentioned earlier on this blog is also a centrally-nominated delegate from Tibet to the NPC.
Let us not forget that the CCDI has the power to summon and detain without charge any member it suspects of breaching party rules and regulations. Suspects are barred from seeing a lawyer while they are detained.

Zhao Leji (center), Zhao Khezi (left) and Wu Yingje (right)

Zhao and Zhao do not bring comic relief to anyone in the Kingdom.
The South China Morning Post noted: “A new supervision law detailing how the new super agency will operate is to be put to a vote on March 20, the last day of the legislative meeting.”
According to the Hong Kong newspaper, the new agency will be a merger of several government and prosecutorial anti-graft departments: “A  whole chapter in the amended constitution is dedicated to the new agency. Its chairperson will be appointed by the National People’s Congress, which is the only body overseeing the commission. The legislature also has the power to dismiss the agency’s chairperson.”
Zhao Leji will be chairman of the new Commission.
The fact that China’s two supreme detectives attended the meeting of the Tibet delegation does not augur well for the aspirations of the Tibetans.
A website site mentioned in an earlier post said: “The TAR spends around three to five times more on domestic security than the average of all provinces and regions. Likewise, Xinjiang’s spending between 2014 and 2016 has been double that of the national regional average, and over triple in 2017. While domestic security spending across all provinces and regions rose by 215 percent between 2007 and 2016, Xinjiang’s grew by 411 percent, the TAR’s by 404 percent, and Qinghai Province’s by 316 percent (Qinghai’s population is 25 percent Tibetan). Spending in Sichuan Province increased by 234 percent, but spending in Sichuan’s two Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures, Ganzi and Aba, which have seen numerous self-immolations since 2008, grew by 295 percent.”
The same website remarked: “Incredibly, the TAR and Xinjiang are beginning to rival the per capita domestic security expenditures of the United States. This is despite the fact that Chinese human resource and local security technology costs are far lower than in the West.”

Meeting the Tibetan delegates
While President Xi Jinping met with the NPC’s deputies from the Chongqing municipality to urge them to follow a ‘clean and upright political ecology’, Zhao Leji told the Tibetan delegation that “the campaign against the mentality and action of privilege seeking should be continued.”
According to Xinhua, he called “for actions against formalities for formalities' sake, bureaucratism and various kinds of misconduct, so as to keep the pressure on conduct problems.”
It is at least what was reported...

Drolkar alias Choekar

Stability of the borders with India
In the meantime the propaganda about the Indian borders continues.
Drolkar (earlier spelt Choekar), the deputy of Yume, north of the McMahon Line, said that she wants to build her hometown as beautiful as kalsang flower (a reference to the letter that she received from Xi Jinping).
"Great changes have been seen in my hometown," she affirmed.
She added: "We have highways, we have power, and new homes are being built as well. We also have stores, restaurants, and family inns right in the village. You even don't need cash when shopping, for everything can be paid via your cellphone,"
Border people are happy in China according to Drolkar with their “more and more convenient life in hometown.”
Drolkar said she will continue to safeguard the border region in future.
For half a century, her family grazes their sheep and cattle there to safeguard the border area, asserted Drolkar.
Xinhua commented that her story has deeply touched the heart of people across the country.
So, where is the need of the two top detectives of the Kingdom, Zhao and Zhao, monitoring Tibet affairs, is people are so happy?
And one should not forget the Third Zhao, General Zhao Zhongqi, the commander of the Western Theater Command, who looks after the Indian borders and is said to have started the conflict in Doklam last year.
The Tale of the Three Zhao is a sad story.

India, China and the 'long march of deep military reform'

Recent PLA's exercises somewhere in Xinjiang

My article India, China and the 'long march of deep military reform' appeared in The Daily Mail.

Here is the link...

China has a Dream: to ensure economic prosperity, social stability, and a decent life to its citizens, but also to become a powerful nation; in fact it dreams to become one day the most powerful nation of the planet.
Military power will play a crucial role in the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
This explains the in-depth military reforms undertaken by President Xi Jinping a year ago.
China is really serious about this.
On December 5 in Beijing, President Xi Jinping, who is also Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) attended a two-day meeting during which he called for “a smaller army with better combat capability and optimized structure.” Some 230 high-ranking military officials as well as the 11 CMC members were in attendance.
Xi told the generals: “If China is to build a strong world-class army. …We must seize the opportunity and make breakthroughs.”
Xi spoke about the informationized modern warfare and emphasized the importance of joint operations. He called for readjusting and optimizing the military's structure: “new type of forces must be developed, the ratios between different types of forces must be rationalized, and the number and the scale of the military be downsized.” Xi added: “Quantity should be reduced, quality improved to build a capable and efficient modernized standing army."
This raises two important questions. While undertaking these reforms, has China not taken a too large bite, which is now difficult to chew?
The other question is: what does this mean for India?
Xinhua remarked that December 2015 “marked a fresh start in the history of the Chinese Armed Forces, as the nation embarked on a long march of deepening military reform.”
The official news agency added: “China has entered a key stage of transforming itself from a big country to a strong power, which calls for greater courage in advancing military reform.”
On December 31, new services were created, namely, the PLA Army, the PLA Rocket Force and the PLA Strategic Support Force and a few weeks later, the seven erstwhile Military Regions were regrouped into five PLA Theater Commands.
Xinhua admitted: “Despite the remarkable achievements, arduous tasks remain;” therefore, the comparison with the Long March.
The creation of a PLA Strategic Support Force is a plunge into the future as it will deal with cyber and space warfare, probably the keys of tomorrow’s conflicts.
But changing mindsets and controlling vested interests is not an easy proposition. Peter Wood, the Editor of the China Brief of the Jamestown Foundation noted that Chinese publications “calling for the PLA to ‘cast off’ old concepts about the predominance of the Ground Forces are further indication that the transition has not gone smoothly.”
For the new Forces, “to work together in coordinated campaigns also remains a key bottleneck for the PLA,” is not obvious.
This major hurdle is far from being overcome.
Regarding India: it is high time India undertakes reforms, in which the role of the ground forces (Indian Army) need to be rebalanced with the Navy and the Air Force, giving a greater role to ‘informationized warfare’.
There are other issues which need to be reviewed: take for example the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). In December 2015, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that the post of CDS “could be a reality soon”. He then added that the Prime Minister “marked defence reforms as a priority and stressed that ‘jointness at the top’ was a need long overdue.”
The CDS would coordinate between the three services, the strategic command responsible for the nuclear weapons …and one day, the cyber and space commands.
The creation of a post of CDS was already recommended by a Group of Ministers in 2001. But what happened since then? Practically nothing.
Another example of the apathy of the Indian system is the Indian National Defence University (INDU).
Planned since decades, the government finally approved the setting up of the INDU at an estimated cost of 2.95 billion in Haryana in 2010.
On the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2013, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne, the then chairman of the chiefs of staff committee asserted that “India needs military leaders who can critically analyse, demonstrate professional acumen and are capable of meeting the threats & challenges at the tactical, operational & strategic levels."
What has happened to the INDU? Lost in the corridors of South Block?
In the meantime, Kanwa Asian Defense, a Chinese-language publication reported that China's military build-up is coming closer to India. 
Beijing's military would have placed more missiles and fighter jets along the Indian border: “The weapons have been deployed in Tibet and in the western region of Xinjiang along with airborne early warning and control systems.”
Kanwa said that Chinese troops have placed the J-11, the J-10 and the Kongjing-500 (airborne early warning and control or AEW&C aircraft) in rotational deployment. The Shenyang J-11 is a twin-engine jet fighter, developed to compete with fourth-generation fighters.
On December 3, 2016, a PLA website showed pictures of airmen “assigned to an aviation regiment under the PLA Western Theater Command performing flight checks on a J-11 fighter jet prior to a round-the-clock flight training exercise under realistic combat environment at a military airfield.”
The airport is located near the Indian border.
Kanwa also said that in Korla (Xinjiang), China may have deployed troops for the launch of midrange ballistic missiles and in Hotan, north of the Aksai Chin, J-10 and H-6K strategic bomber would have been spotted.
Is it not high time for the Indian defence forces to seriously embark on its Long March to modernization?

Exercise of  the Western Theater Command (in Xinjiang)

Photo obviously taken at another location

Troops exercising in Southern Tibet

J-11 fighter planes exercising in Tibet (Western Theater Command)

 

Today’s India in not the India of the 1950s

Gen Zhao Zongqi with the Indian Army Chief

Gen Zhao Zongqi is a rising star of the People’s Liberation Army. He spent most of his military carrier in Tibet where he occupied different posts before being transferred as chief of staff of the Jinan Military Region (MR) in December 2007. Later he commanded the MR where he got promoted to the rank of full general. On February 1, 2016, he returned to the Indian borders, now called the Western Theater Command, regrouping the erstwhile Lanzhou and Chengdu MRs, which face India from Ladakh to Arunachal.
As Gen Zhao arrived in Delhi, it is interesting to have a look at the latest developments in the fields of defense in China …and in India.
A year ago President Xi Jinping undertook in-depth military reforms.
Beijing often speaks of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in which military power will play a crucial role.
On December 31, 2015, new services were created, namely, the PLA Army, the PLA Rocket Force and the PLA Strategic Support Force and a few weeks later, the seven erstwhile Military Regions were regrouped into five PLA Theater Commands.
On December 5 in Beijing, President Xi Jinping, who is also Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) attended a two-day meeting during which he called for “a smaller army with better combat capability and optimized structure.” Some 230 high-ranking military officials as well as the 11 CMC members were in attendance.
Xinhua remarked: “China has entered a key stage of transforming itself from a big country to a strong power, which calls for greater courage in advancing military reform.”
The creation of a PLA Strategic Support Force is a plunge into the future as it will deal with cyber and space warfare, probably the keys of tomorrow’s conflicts.
This reminded me ‘reforms’ undertaken by India in the 1950s. During a Defense Council meeting on July 3, 1953, Nehru decided that “the Army was to reduce its strength yearly by a minimum of 10,000 personnel for the next five years.” The Indian leadership wanted a smaller army  …without better combat capability!
The Army Headquarters had to work out a rundown programme of approximately 11,500 per year. The proposals envisaged a 5% reduction in establishments spread over the first two years and the disbandment of a certain number of units during the following three years.
According to a note prepared by by Major General J.N. Chaudhuri, the Chief of General Staff (later Army Chief) and passed by Prime Minister Nehru: “The opinion of Army Headquarters is that while the 5% cut spread over two years will not materially affect the effectiveness of the Army, there will certainly be a loss of morale if approximately 23,000 personnel are sent out and establishments reduced while aid to Pakistan is being discussed.”
The US was then actively supporting a stronger Pakistani Army.
A year later, M.K. Vellodi, the Defense Minister agreed to implement the proposal: “The budget for the next year has been framed on the basis that there will be a reduction of the order of 10,000 men next year as decided by Government already.”
It added: “this reduction should be effected not by disbanding any unit but by effecting about 2 ½ % reduction in the strength of units.”
The same month, the infamous Panchsheel Agreement was signed.
Today, things have changed; the old pacifist mindset has gone. India’s leadership has realized that the best way to bring peace is to be ready for any situation. A few examples will show the importance of preparedness as a deterrent to war.
In August 2016, Delhi decided to deploy the 4th regiment of BrahMos Missile in Arunachal Pradesh. The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the raising of a new regiment of an advanced version of the missile to be deployed in the north-eastern State at a cost of Rs. 4300 crore. The regiment is to be equipped with five autonomous missile launchers with command post and 100 BrahMos missiles. This does not amuse the Chinese who have taken note.
A month earlier, T-72 Russian-origin tanks were inducted in Eastern Ladakh facing China: “This adds a new dimension to any future war in the area that is marked by an average height of 14,000 feet, where oxygen is scarce,” says The Tribune. According to The Daily Excelsior published from Jammu, for the Indian Army “the move is part of the winter drill to validate the capability of the tanks at such heights and is not an inimical move against China.”
On November 8, for the first time, the Indian Air Force successfully carried out a test landing and take-off of C-17 Globemaster-III at Mechuka’s Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh. Mechuka is strategically located just 29 km from the border.
After the upgradation of Mechuka's ALG, the giant Boeing C-17 could land. It should eventually ensure transport of men and material in the remote border village of West Siang district, which was invaded by the Chinese in 1962.
Arunachal will soon have seven ALGs in Walong, Mechuka , Vijaynagar, Tuting, Pasighat, Ziro and Aalo and later one in Tawang.
Other good news: India did not back down when confronted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is Demchok village in South-East Ladakh. The national press reported that the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Indian Army were caught for three days in an eyeball to eyeball situation with PLA on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Demchok. In April, the residents of Demchok had appealed to the Deputy Commissioner in Leh for their resettlement elsewhere in the district because of continuous obstructions to any developmental work in the area by the Chinese troops.
This time India did not blink.
We could multiply the examples.
These are important messages for General Zhao to take back home: today’s India is not the same as in the 1950s.

Gen Zhao Zongqi lands on the plateau

Gen Zhao Zongqi, the new Western Theater Commander
receives the flag from Chairman Xi Jinping

According to China Military Online, President Xi Jinping, Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) yesterday presided  over a ceremony to unveil five new Military Theater Commands (MTCs).
“The five MTCs are named by their strategic location in north, south, east, west and central China, replacing the current seven Military Area Commands (MAC) headquartered in Beijing, Nanjing, Chengdu, Jinan, Shenyang, Lanzhou and Guangzhou”, says the Chinese website.
The purpose of this major reform is to restructure the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) to better manage the armed forces and boost their combat capabilities.
According to The PLA Daily, Chairman Xi told the new commanders and political commissars that the MTCs should “shoulder the responsibilities of responding to security threats, safeguarding peace, [and work on] war containment [and be able to win] wars in each strategic direction.”
China had already unveiled the military reform blueprint in November 2015 with the formation of a three-tier command system (CMC - MTC – Troops): "an administrative system running  from the CMC, through various services down to the troops has been developed.”
Of course, Xi urged the new MTC’s commanders to “unwaveringly follow the leadership of the CPC and faithfully carry out instructions and orders from the CPC Central Committee (CC) and the CMC.”
He also asked them to study how to win modern wars, by using efficient joint theater command management.
Xi presented the flags of the new MTCs to the new Commanders: General Liu Yuejun, Commander of the Eastern Theater and General Zheng Weiping, the Political Commissar; General Wang Jiaocheng, Commander of the Southern Theater and General Wei Liang, the Political Commissar; General Zhao Zongqi, Commander of the Western Theater and and General Zhu Fuxi, the Political Commissar; General Song Puxuan, Commander of the Northern Theater and General Chu Yimin, the Political Commissar; and Lt Gen Han Weiguo, Commander of the Central Theater and Lt Gen Yin Fanglong, the Political Commissar.
According to the same source, Xi called on the MTC’s commanders “to keep their duties in mind and resolutely implement the country's military strategies.”
In the new structure, the CMC will look after the overall military administration, while the MTCs will focus on combat.
Xi said that the move to establish five theater commands and form a joint battle command system is a Party’s strategic decision in view of realizing the Chinese dream of a strong military: “It is a landmark progress in implementing the military reforms and building the PLA's joint battle system.”
Xi added that “the five theater commands are responsible for dealing with security threats in their respective strategic scopes, maintaining peace, containing wars and winning wars”.
He noted that the pivotal role of the commands “in safeguarding the country's overall national security and military strategies.”
Xi also said that the new commands should concentrate on fighting battles.
The commanders were asked “to study the mechanism of winning modern wars, grasp the law of employing military forces, speed up the development of a strategy for the theater commands and enhance the training of joint operations and command in order to win the initiative in future wars.”
The new commands “should be prepared to fight at any time and always be ready to act in response to the call of the people and the Party.”
Xinhua News Agency commented that, under the CMC's leadership, the MTCs should focus on engagement, while the PLA army, navy and air force will concentrate on developing their respective forces.
Fang Bing, a professor at the PLA National Defense University told The Global Times, the Party’s mouthpiece that more senior officers from the navy and air force will be assigned in the future as top leaders of the theater commands.
The Global Times also reported that though official details have not as yet been revealed about the exact areas covered by each theater command, analysts believe that the new commands are likely address the new challenges faced by China as a growing world power.
According to Song, a Beijing-based military expert, the Western MTC will have to shoulder more responsibilities in counterterrorism (read separatism in Xinjiang and Tibet), while the eastern and southern commands will face more threats from the East and South China Seas - each requiring a different style of joint battle command:

The different strategic locations will require an adjustment of different PLA forces inside each theater command. The PLA army, which formerly had a larger proportion in the previous military area commands, is likely to see a reduced proportion, while other forces - including the navy, air force and the rocket force - will see a bigger role.

All this will take time and is bound to create frictions within the PLA.
Chinese defense ministry spokesperson, Yang Yujun asserted that the establishment of the MTCs marks a historic progress in the PLA construction of a joint battle command system: “The PLA has also adjusted its different forces under the theater commands based on the functions of the PLA navy and air force, as well as previous military area commands.”
The spokesperson added that the new arrangement is in line with the practices of the world's leading military powers:

The previous mechanism with seven military commands was set up when China was under heavy military pressure from the north, but the nation's security environment has changed over the decades, hence requiring a re-drawing of area commands addressing different strategic locations.

Though it was denied that China's military reform meant more muscle-flexing, the future only will tell us if this is true.
The spokesman reiterated that China's defense policy is defensive in nature and its military strategy features active defense: “The Chinese military intends to seek more military cooperation and make greater contribution to safeguarding world peace.”
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) commented that commanders with battle experience have been posted in areas with ‘high risk of war’, though the selections for the central command reflect concerns about 'maintaining stability'.
In fact, this is also true for the Western MTC, which not only faces India, but also is responsible for the ‘instability’ in Xinjiang and Tibet.
While the new commanders and political commissars will look after the territorial defence of those areas, "they will no longer directly administer the troops in each region, but focus instead on joint command of the ground, naval, air and all other forces", added the Hong Kong newspaper.
The Commanders have also been reshuffled regionwise, for example, former Lanzhou MR’s chief, General Liu Yuejun has been transferred as the head of the Eastern MTC, while General Wang Jiaocheng goes from Shenyang MR to the Southern MTC and Jinan region commander General Zhao Zongqi becomes head of the Western MTC (General Zhao however served in Tibet for many years, as reported on this blog); and former Beijing region commander General Song Puxuan becomes head of the Northern MTC.
Retired colonel Yue Gang told the SCMP that it was making a big change and the leadership had to be cautious.
There is no doubt that the battle is not won for Chairman Xi, who will continue to take ‘cautious’ steps.
One indication is that several political commissars (of Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenyang) have been kept and reposted as the commissars of the new commands.
The South China Morning Post points that the exception is the Central MTC, where Lt Gen Han Weiguo has been promoted Commander (he is not a full general or even a member of the Central Committee), and Lt Gen Yin Fanglong, former deputy chief of the General Political Department is the new commissar (he too is a Lt Gen, though a CC’s Alternate Member).
Col Yue commented: “Commanders with battle experience have been put in areas with a high risk of war but the selections for the central command reflect more concern about maintaining stability.”
It is only the beginning of a long process.
India should watch carefully, especially now that the entire northern border will be dealt by one command only; it will certainly improve its efficiency. Further General Zhao Zongqi, the new Western MTC’s Commander has a good knowledge of the situation on the Tibetan plateau, having been posted in Tibet for several years.

Theater Command	Commander	Commissar
North	Song Puxuan	Chu Yimin
South	Wang Jiaocheng	Wei Liang
East	Liu Yuejun	Zheng Weiping
West	Zhao Zongqi	Zhu Fuxi
Central	Han Weiguo	Yin Fanglong

Interestingly, on the day of the announcement of the new MTCs, a series of photos of J-11 fighter planes operating on the plateau were published. These planes will now be under the direct command of Gen Zhao Zonhqi.

General Zhao Zongqi: from Tibet to the CMC

Chairman Xi meets the old CMC and new commanders

Yesterday, President Xi Jinping announced the reorganization of the four PLA military headquarters or departments - staff, political, logistics and armaments - into 15 new agencies which will directly work under the Central Military Commission (CMC).
Xi Jinping, who also CMC Chairman, met the new bosses of each unit.
He described the reshuffle as ‘a breakthrough’ and ‘a crucial step’ toward a stronger military.
Xi added that all the military leaders should adhere to the Party spirit, obey political discipline, and be politically intelligent (sic)!
Xi urged the new leaders to ‘frequently, actively and resolutely’ align their direction with the CPC Central Committee and the CMC.
As mentioned earlier on this blog, the seven Military Area Commands are being replaced by five Combat Zones, primarily focusing on 'combat'.
The new Western Combat Zone will replace the two Military Area Commands today facing India in the High Himalaya (Chengdu and Lanzhou).
According to The South China Morning Post, General Zhao Zongqi will command the Western Combat Zone.
I re-posting an old piece on General Zhao.
That was a good prediction.
General Zhao should automatically become member of the CMC.

Here are the 15 New Units of the CMC

1. General Office
2. Joint General Staff
3. Political Work Department
4. Logistical Support Department
5. Equipment Development Department
6. Training Management Department
7. Military Defense Mobilization Department
8. Discipline Inspection Commission
9. Politics and Law Commission
10. Science and Technology  Commission
11. Strategic Planning Office
12. Reform and Establishment Office
13. International Military Cooperation Office
14. Auditing Administration Office
15. Administration Affairs Management Office

General Zhao Zhongqi

General Zhao Zongqi: from Tibet to the CMC?
July 24, 2015
A couple of years ago, I wrote a piece The Chinese who matter in Tibetan Affairs. Since then, several officials who ‘mattered’ have lost their job or have disappeared from the Chinese political scene.
The prime case is of course Ling Jihua, who from 2007 to 2012 served under President Hu Jintao, as Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and in 2012, became Head of the United Front Work Department, dealing with Tibet among other subjects.
His son's car accident (with two Tibetan girls) signaled the beginning of his downfall.
Jia is now investigated for six violations of law and Communist Party discipline, including taking bribes, adultery and illegally acquiring a large number of ‘core secrets’ of the State and Party. It is what a Politburo statement, relayed by Xinhua, said.
The South China Morning Post rightly says: “The accusation that Ling illegally obtained the secrets surprised some observers, who said he was supposedly entitled to access to the information”.
This is one of the mysteries of Chinese politics.
Another Chinese who matters(ed) is/was General Wang Jianping, a member of the 18th CCP Central Committee. In 2009, he became Commander of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force with a bigger budget than the PLA.
His name has often been mentioned on this blog. (A good chess player takes the initiative?)
Apparently, in January 2015 Wang was ‘transferred’ as deputy head of a coordinating group on military training; it is obviously a great fall.
Interestingly on July 17, The Hong Kang Oriental Daily published an article on the military leadership changes in China. It was titled, “Three Phenomenon at the Center of Army Restructuring.”
It was later republished in the Mainland under a different title, “Xi Jinping’s Big Move: Jiang Zemin’s Closest Army Allies Are No longer in Power.”
The article says that Xi has assigned several senior military generals to insignificant positions: "Over the last six months, those in the most important leadership positions in the armed forces have all been replaced. Those officials who were close to Xi were promoted."
Wang Jianping is one clearly one of those who lost their seat.
Another powerful figure who has disappeared from my list is Lieutenant General Yang Jinshan. In October 2014, I wrote about The Fall of a Powerful General.
After serving as Commander of the Tibet Military Area, in June 2013, General Yang was transferred (on promotion) to Chengdu as a Deputy Commander of the Chengdu Military Region. He was one of the rising stars in the PLA
His fall is probably related to Xu Caihou’s case.
He was even demoted from the Party's Central Committee.
And there is also the case of Le Dake, the head of External Intelligence in Tibet. A few weeks ago, Reuters had reported that the former top Chinese security official in Tibet was being investigated ‘for suspected graft’.
The news agency explained that it is “a rare example of corruption busters going into the restive and remote region.”

The new rising star: General Zhao Zongqi
While some officials have sunk into oblivion, some are rising very fast.
It is the case of the Jinan Military Region’s Commander, Lieutenant General Zhao Zongqi, who, earlier in his career spent 20 years in Tibetan Military District.
Recently, General Zhao went on an inspection trip with General Fan Changlong.  
The South China Morning Post reported: “A top leader from the Jinan military area command accompanied Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, on an inspection trip to the northwest, raising speculation over a personnel reshuffle.”
According to The PLA Daily, Lieutenant General Zhao Zongqi accompanied Fan to inspect garrisons in Gansu, Xinjiang and Ningxia.
The article says that “Zhao, 60, is the youngest commander among top leaders from the key military areas. He is also one of a handful of senior military officials who took part in China's border conflicts with Vietnam in the late 1970s.”
His long stint in Tibet is not mentioned.
However, the Chinese press parried: “The pairing of the two [Fan and Zhao] on the trip fueled speculation over whether Zhao would be promoted to even higher rank.”
'Higher rank' can only mean 'Central Military Commission'.
Last year, I mentioned on this blog a high level tour of General Fan Changlong in Tibet. He was then accompanied by three Military Region Commanders (Lt. Gen. Liu Yuejun, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, General Li Shiming, Commander, Chengdu Military Region and Lt. Gen. Zhao Zongqi, Commander, Jinan Military Region).
I then wondered what was the Jinan MR Commander was doing there.
This was soon after the Chumur incident in Ladakh during the visit of President Xi Jinping in India.
I then wrote: “The main purpose of General Fan's Tibet tour was most likely to convince the PLA officers that they should follow Xi Jinping in his crusade against corrupt officers.”
At that time, Xinhua reported that General Fan told the army to firmly obey the command of President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
China's senior-most general told the troops that “the army and the armed police should resolutely implement the strategies made by the CPC Central Committee and Xi, also the CMC Chairman, and uphold the correct decisions to investigate Zhou Yongkang and punish Xu Caihou.”
To follow the orders of Chairman Xi was important, said Fan; the defence forces should implement the instructions by achieving ‘Four [questions] to Ask’.
One of the ‘Four to Ask’ was “To ask oneself whether one follows the correct guiding ideology in training, whether the practices followed are correct to [avoid] other negative phenomena [i.e. corruption?]”.
Apparently General Zhao got it right; he probably answered the question the correct way.
As the result, he may soon be the first Chinese ‘Tibet hand’ reaching the PLA’s Heaven (the Central Military Commission).

PLA: on the right side at the right moment

CMC members in front, 10 new generals at the back.

On August 17, 2013, Xinhua reported that General Fan Changlong, a member of Communist Party’s Politburo and Senior Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) visited Tibet and Qinghai to inspect the forces “stationed on the snow-covered plateau, the loyal soldiers defending the frontiers”.
Interestingly, General Fan was accompanied by three Military Region Commanders (Lt. Gen. Liu Yuejun, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, Lt. Gen.Zhao Zongqi, Commander, Jinan Military Region and General Li Shiming, Commander, Chengdu Military Region).

Though he had spend some 20 years in Tibetan Military District, why Lt. Gen. Zhao Zongqi was around was not clear at that time.

The main purpose of general Fan's Tibet tour was to convince the PLA officers that they should follow Xi Jinping in his crusade against corrupt officers.
Xinhua reported that General Fan told the army to firmly obey the command of President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
China's senior-most general told the troops that “the army and the armed police should resolutely implement the strategies made by the CPC Central Committee and Xi, also the CMC Chairman, and uphold the correct decisions to investigate Zhou Yongkang and punish Xu Caihou.”
Was it a coincidence, but yesterday the Central Military Commission (CMC) promoted 10 generals of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Armed Police Force (APF) to the rank of full general.
The three generals who visited Tibet with General Fan in August 2013, have got one more star.
Lt Gens Liu Yuejun, Zhao Zongqi and Li Zuocheng, respectively commanders of Beijing, Lanzhou, Jinan and Chengdu Military Area Commands, are now full generals. The next stage will be the membership of the CMC.
Moral of the story: it is always good to denounce the 'corrupts' and side with the 'boss', especially on a visit to the Roof of the World.
To 'please the boss' tactic is not new.
The South China Morning Post reported that Guo Boxiong, the former vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission, who now faces investigation for taking bribes "courted favour with ex-president Jiang Zemin to become one of the leaders of the country’s military."
The Hong Kong paper says: "Guo Boxiong, the alleged leader of the 'Northwest faction' [Lanzhou] in the military, secured a powerful future by becoming the first general to publicly declare his loyalty to Jiang Zemin during the early stages of his presidency," adding: "The relationship served both men well – Guo allegedly used his position to spin a network of personal businesses while Jiang secured the allegiance of a proxy within the circle of top generals, allowing him to wield power even after he left office.."