Reform of China's defense and military structure began after
Xi Jinping became the
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and the
Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2012. Under
Xi's administration, China created the
CCP National Security Commission and established an
air defense identification zone in the
East China Sea in 2013. In 2014, Xi told the
CCP Politburo that the PLA should operate by integrating multiple services. Xi announced a reduction of 300,000 troops from the PLA in September 2015, bringing its size to 2 million troops. Xi described this as a gesture of peace, while analysts such as Rory Medcalf have said that the cut was done to reduce costs as well as part of PLA's modernization. Around half of the 300,000 troops were officers, and most were from the
People's Liberation Army Ground Force. The "deepening national defense and military reform" was announced in November 2015 at a
plenary session of the
Central Military Commission (CMC)'s
Central Leading Group for Military Reform. They were expected to be long and extensive that aimed at turning the PLA into a modern military on par with international standards. The four traditional departments of the military (
General Political,
General Logistics,
General Armament and
General Staff Departments) were replaced by 15 new departments, commissions, and offices led by the CMC. Seven departments were created (General Office,
Joint Staff Department,
Political Work Department,
Equipment Development Department, Training and Management Department,
Logistics Support Department, and
National Defense Mobilization Department). The three Commissions created were the Discipline Inspection Commission, the Politics and Law Commission, and the
Science and Technology Commission. The five operational offices created were the Strategic Planning Office, the Reform and Organization Office, the International Military Cooperation Office, the Audit Bureau, and the Organ Affairs General Management Bureau. On 1 February 2016, China replaced its system of seven military regions with newly established Theater Commands:
Northern,
Southern,
Western,
Eastern, and
Central. In the prior system, operations were segmented by military branch and region. In contrast, each Theater Command is intended to function as a unified entity with joint operations across different military branches. == See also ==