BEIJING — China has created new independent People’s Liberation Army units for information, space and cyber operations in its most sweeping military reorganization in nearly a decade.
The old Strategic Support Force was broken up and replaced with the three new arms, one of which, the Information Support Force, is responsible for gathering and analyzing information, building communication networks and protecting vital systems.
It “bears a great responsibility for advancing the military’s high level of development and winning a modern war,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said at an event Friday marking the creation of the Information Support Force.
The force’s top commander is Lt. Gen. Bi Yi, whose military career includes serving as deputy commander of the PLA Ground Force.
The military’s official newspaper, the People’s Liberation Army Daily, wrote in commentary published Saturday that “modern warfare is a confrontation between systems” and “those who seize the information advantage take the initiative.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at an event marking the creation of the Information Support Force on April 19. (China’s Ministry of National Defense)The PLA now consists of four branches — ground, navy, air and rocket — as well as four arms — information, aerospace, cyber and joint logistics support.
Announcing the reorganization on Friday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said the cyberspace force was needed for reinforcing national cyber border defenses, detecting and countering network intrusions and maintaining information security. The aerospace force will improve China’s access to and ability to use outer space, Wu said.
In a speech in March, Xi had instructed the military to strengthen its presence in cyberspace and outer space, calling them emerging areas of strategic capabilities.
The three new arms appear to fall under the direct control of the Central Military Commission, China’s highest decision-making body for the military. Xi heads the commission.
A Japanese Defense Ministry source said the Strategic Support Unit alone had a limited ability to handle all aspects of information, space and cyber operations. The reorganization “is likely intended to make each arm independent and increase its level of specialization,” the source said.
The previous major military reorganization under Xi in 2015 sought to modernize the PLA by reducing its roughly 2.3 million-strong force by 300,000. It reshuffled the seven military regions into five theater commands and created the rocket branch and the Strategic Support Force.
As part of Xi’s crackdown on corruption, an investigation into potential corrupt deals between big-budget sections of the PLA and military corporations is reportedly underway.
A Hong Kong newspaper has reported allegations of corruption in the old Strategic Support Force. Former Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who has not been seen in public since August 2023 and was dismissed from his post the following October, is suspected to have been involved in wrongdoing related to equipment development, media reports said.
source : asia.nikkei