Simplified Chinese 西部战区 Hanyu Pinyin | Traditional Chinese 西部戰區 Founded 1 February 2016 | |
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The Western Theater Command is one of the five war zones of People's Liberation Army, was founded in February 1, 2016, its predecessor are the Chengdu Military Region and Lanzhou Military Region. The headquarters of Western Theater Command is located in Chengdu, Sichuan
Its jurisdiction includes Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Chongqing.Its commander is Gen. Zhao Zongqi and political commissar is Gen. Zhu Fuxi (at appointment time he was Lt. Gen.).
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 Party-run Global Times reported the change would allow the command “to shoulder more combat assignments”.