China: New Military Zones Another Step Toward Modernization

The ongoing modernization of China's military is not merely or even primarily a process of expanding and updating hardware. As a Jan. 1 report in Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun makes clear, updating the Chinese armed forces also entails significant changes to the military's organizational structure — changes affecting both the relationship between its various branches and its geographic breakdown. According to the report, Beijing intends to consolidate China's seven military regions into five military zones tasked with overseeing domestic and international security issues. Each zone reportedly will be coordinated by a joint operations command with control over the army, navy and air force, as well as a strategic missile unit, in its area of responsibility. The effort is a key part of a broader reorientation of the Chinese military from a force focused largely on domestic defense and internal security to one better able to meet emerging external threats.