China combines India, Pakistan PLA commands

China has for the first time integrated PLA area commands overseeing India and Pakistan as part of sweeping reforms under which the world’s largest Army is to junk its Soviet-era model for a US-style joint command system to fortify the ruling Communist Party’s control.

Under the new reforms announced by President Xi Jinping, who has shaken up the 1.2 million strong People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with a massive anti-corruption drive, it redrew the military command system by forming a joint operational command, jun-king the area military commands.

China has seven military area commands in Beijing, Nanjing, Chengdu, Jinan, Shenyang, Lanzhou and Guangzhou.

Of these, Chengdu military command was in charge of security along India’s eastern sector in the Tibet region, including Arunachal Pradesh, while the Lanzhou military command looked after the western sector, including Kashmir region and Pakistan.

As per the new strategic zone plan unveiled by Mr Xi, also general secretary of the CPC, both Chengdu and Lanzhou get integrated into a strategic command region, making it perhaps the biggest areas for the PLA. Lanzhou, which looks after the border with Pakistan-occupied Kash-mir and Afghanistan, has been active in recent years battling the two-way crossings of Uighur Islamist militants from the volatile Xinjiang region.

Some analysts say that such a sprawling area may make it unwieldy during a conflict without a war zone commander.