Xi Jinping tells PLA chiefs to develop 'new types' of command
President Xi Jinping told the military's top brass yesterday that the People's Liberation Army had to develop "new types" of military commands.
President Xi Jinping told the military's top brass yesterday that the People's Liberation Army had to develop "new types" of military commands.
Xi, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, met the PLA chiefs of staff yesterday following their conference on Sunday in Beijing to discuss how to improve the army's command systems.
"In the face of a new national security situation and new requirements for defence preparation … [the military] must strive to build new types of command that follow party instructions and are skilled in planning combat strategies," Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
The report did not elaborate further on the "new types" of command. Early this year, the defence ministry had said it was exploring setting up a joint command mechanisms for the PLA.
Xi also urged headquarters units of all PLA forces to improve their combat readiness and sharpen their ability to win a regional war in the age of information technology.
The yesterday reported the chiefs of staff conference focused on streamlining the operational headquarters of all PLA forces with information technology, and revised several important protocols.
The chiefs of staff also discussed how to improve the efficiency of military command, the newspaper said.
PLA Chief of General Staff General Fang Fenghui attended Sunday's conference, the paper reported.
Ni Lexiong , director of a defence policy research centre at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said the new type of command system should have the ability to relay orders to PLA units much more quickly and smoothly.
"A relatively lean, flat organisation could be the reason to form new commands," Ni said. "Some of the commands of the traditional arms could be merged and some of the new arms, such as information units, could have new headquarters ."
Antony Wong Dong, chairman of the Macau Military Institute, said the remarks showed that Xi is trying to step up reforms at the senior level of the PLA.
The reported on Monday that Xi is poised to streamline and consolidate the Central Military Commission, including a substantial reshuffle of the military's top brass.
