The Eastern Theater Command () is one of the five theater commands of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

(PLA), founded 1 February 2016. It replaced the

Nanjing Military Region The Nanjing Military Region () was one of the former seven military command regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Its jurisdiction covered all military and armed police located in Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Shangh ...

. The command is headquartered in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

. Its jurisdiction includes

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

provinces and the East China Sea to include the Strait of Taiwan. The Eastern Theater Command is primarily composed three subordinate single-service component commands: the Eastern Theater Ground Force of the

PLAGF The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF), also referred to as the PLA Army, is the army, land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and also its largest and oldest branch. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 192 ...

, the

East Sea Fleet The Eastern Theater Command Navy (东部战区海军, ETCN) is a formation of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the naval component of the Eastern Theater Command. The ETCN was reorganized from the East Sea Fleet (ESF) by 2016. C ...

of the

PLAN A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an Goal, objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a modal logic, temporal set (mathematics), set of intended actions through wh ...

, and the Eastern Theater Command Air Force of the

PLAAF The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

which conduct combat operations within the command's

area of responsibility Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and c ...

. Also under the Eastern Theater Command is the

Wuxi Wuxi ( zh, s=无锡, p=Wúxī, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu, China. As of the 2024 census, it had a population of 7,495,000. The city lies in the southern Yangtze delta and borders Lake Tai. Notable landmarks include Lihu Park, the Mt. Lings ...

Joint Logistics Support Center (JSLC) of the CMC's Joint Logistics Support Force which provides logistic and material support to the command and Base 61 of the PLARF which is responsible for missile employment in the Eastern Theater. Its commander is General

Lin Xiangyang Lin Xiangyang (; born October 1964) is a general (''Jiang (rank), shangjiang'') of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) who is the current commander of Eastern Theater Command, in office since January 2022. Biography Born in the town of Haikou, Fuji ...

and its political commissar is General Liu Qingsong.

Area of responsibility

Eastern Theater Command's

(AOR) includes

East China East China () is a geographical region in the People’s Republic of China, mainly consisting of seven province-level administrative divisions, namely the provinces (from north to south) Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, ...

, the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

, and the

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a strait separating the island of Taiwan and the Asian continent. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. Names Former names of the Tai ...

. The command's primary missions are maintaining security in the East China Sea and the conduct of major operations against Taiwan, including the

Penghu The Penghu ( , Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, about west of the main island of Taiwan across the Penghu Ch ...

Kinmen Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), only east from the city of Xiamen in Fujian, located at the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, from wh ...

and Matsu Islands. It is also likely responsible for matters relating to Japan, including the Ryukyu Archipelago, the

Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel (; ''Dongsuro'') is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Isl ...

and the disputed

Senkaku Islands The Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and the Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan, are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They were historically known in the Western world as the Pinnacle ...

History

On 1 February 2016, the Eastern Theater Command held its inaugural meeting in the Bayi Building in Beijing. The meeting was held concurrently with all of the other newly created theater commands. General Secretary of the CCP and Chairman of the CMC

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

was in attendance, awarding military flags and issuing the official instructions. CMC Vice Chairman and CCP Politburo Member Fan Changlong read out the orders while CMC Vice Chairman Xu Qiliang presided. In response to the 2022 visit by

United States Speaker of the House The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress. T ...

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

to Taiwan, the Eastern Theater Command conducted joint ground, air, and naval military exercises including live-fire drills, missile launches over

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, and Taiwanese Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) incursions.

Organizational structure

The Eastern Theater Command, like other Chinese theater commands, consists of a joint headquarters, a joint logistics support center (JSLC) from the PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, a PLA Ground Force (PLAGF) service component, a PLA Air Force (PLAAF) service component, a PLA Navy (PLAN) service component, and a PLA Rocket Force (PLARF) service component. Within Eastern Theater Command these units these are the Nanjing headquarters, Wuxi Joint Logistics Support Facility, Eastern Theater Command Ground Forces, Eastern Theater Command Air Force, Eastern Fleet, and Base 61.

Headquarters

Located in

, capital of

Jiangsu Province Jiangsu is a coastal province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the third smallest, but the fifth most populous, with a population of 84. ...

, the Eastern Theater Command headquarters includes both the General Staff Department, responsible for staff support to command leadership, and the Political Works Department, providing the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) oversight and influence within the command. The command's General Staff Department () consists of at least eight sections: combat bureau, intelligence bureau, information assurance agency, military demand bureau, joint training board, mobilization bureau, work department bureau, work direction bureau, and war service bureau. The command's Political Works Department () consists of at least six bureaus: general, organization, cadre, military and civilian, publicity, and group workers liaison bureau.

PLA Ground Force

The PLA Ground Force (PLAGF) component of Eastern Theater Command is composed of three major units: The 71st, 72nd, and 73rd Group Army. Since 2017 reforms, the PLAGF group army represents a more evolved, flexible, and capable operational organization that provides Chinese military decision makers with the ability to task-organize forces to accomplish specific missions. Each group army doctrinally commands twelve

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

s: six

combined-arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armour in an urban environment in which each supports the other. ...

brigades (CA-BDEs) and six support brigades including

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

, CBRN,

special operations forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

(SOF), and others. Its commander is Kong Jun () who formerly served as the first commander of the PLA Marine Corps.

Directly Subordinate Units

* 301st Coastal Defense Brigade (海防第301旅) (

Nantong Nantong is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. Nantong is a vital river port bordering Yancheng to the north; Taizhou to the west; Suzhou, Wux ...

) *302nd Coastal Defense Brigade (海防第302旅) (

Zhoushan Zhoushan is an urbanized archipelago with the administrative status of a prefecture-level city in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. It consists of an archipelago of islands at the southern mouth of Hangzhou Bay off the mainland c ...

) **302nd Brigade's Boat Group (302旅船艇大隊) *303rd Coastal Defense Brigade (海防第303旅) ( Changle,

) **303rd Brigade's Boat Group (303旅船艇大隊) *304th Coastal Defense Brigade (海防第304旅) (

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

) **304th Brigade's Boat Group (304旅船艇大隊) *31st Pontoon Bridge Brigade (舟橋31旅) (

*1st Long Distance Rocket Artillery Brigade (遠程火箭炮兵第1旅) ( Wuxi, Jiangsu) *1st Information Surveillance Brigade (情報偵察第1旅) (

) *1st Communication Support Brigade (信息保障第1旅) (

Xuzhou Xuzhou ( zh, s=徐州), also known as Pengcheng () in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 Chinese census, 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in ...

; Mawei,

) *1st Brigade Electronic Counter Measures (電子對抗第1旅) (

)

71st Group Army

The 71st Group Army () traces its history back to the 12th Corps, a February 1949 consolidation of the 34th, 35th, and 36th Divisions. In December 1950, the 12th Corps incorporated the 31st Division of the 11th Corps and entered the Korean War, fighting in the Shangganling Campaign against two United Nations divisions. In May 1989, the

Central Military Commission Central Military Commission may refer to: *Central Military Commission (China), the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China. *Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the highest body in Vietnam ...

mobilized at least 14 of the PLA's 24 group armies to enforce martial law against student-led protests in

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...

from five of the seven military regions, a larger force than had been mobilized for China's border wars with Vietnam, India, or the Soviet Union.(Chinese
Wu Renhua, "六四北京戒严部队的数量和番号" 《1989天安门事件二十周年祭》之三
Accessed 2013-06-29(Chinese
Wu Renhua, "六四：一场没有武装对手的战争" 《1989天安门事件二十周年祭》系列之八
Accessed 2013-06-28 The Nanjing Military Region, predecessor to the Eastern Theater Command, airlifted the 34th, 36th, and 110th Infantry Divisions, an artillery brigade, and an anti-aircraft battalion from the 12th Corps following Xu Qinxian's refusal to mobilize the 38th Army in Beijing.(Chines
Wu Renhua, "进京的戒严部队和进京路线" 《1989天安门事件二十周年祭》系列之十二
Accessed 2013-06-29 In 2017 the 12th Corps was disbanded and replaced by the 71st Group Army as China replaced their seven military regions with five theater commands. Headquartered in

, the composition of the 71st Group Army matches the Chinese

doctrinal Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymolog ...

group army structure commanding six combined-arms brigades and seven support brigades. The 71st Group Army is understood to consist of the below units. Note, the PLAGF uniquely identifies support brigades using the same unit number as the parent group army. * Headquarters * 2nd Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade * 35th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade * 160th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade * 235th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade * 178th Medium Combined-Arms Brigade * 179th Light Combined-Arms Brigade * 71st Army Aviation Brigade * 71st Artillery Brigade * 71st Air Defense Brigade * 71st Special Operations Brigade * 71st Service Support Brigade

72nd Group Army

The

72nd Group Army The 72nd Group Army () is a Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) formation subordinated to the Eastern Theater Command. Prior to April 2017, it was called 1st Group Army ( Unit 83011 and 73011) with its headquarters in Huzhou ...

(), headquartered in Huzhou City,

Zhejiang Province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, originates from the 1930 activation of the 2nd Red Army in

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

which took part in Mao's famous

Long March The Long March ( zh, s=长征, p=Chángzhēng, l=Long Expedition) was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and ...

. The 2nd Red Army was reorganized and redesignated as the 1st Corps in February 1947 taking an active role in the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

include in the battles for Shanzong, Fumei, and Longdong. In April 1953, 1st Corps was deployed to the Korean War but returned to China after only a few months with the conflict's cessation. In 2017, with the transformation of military regions to theater commands, the PLAGF 1st Corps was reorganized and redesignated as the 72nd Ground Army. The 72nd Group Army is understood to consist of the below units. * Headquarters * 10th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade * 5th Amphibious Combined-Arms Brigade * 124th Amphibious Combined-Arms Brigade * 85th Medium Combined-Arms Brigade * 90th Light Combined-Arms Brigade * 72nd Army Aviation Brigade * 72nd Artillery Brigade * 72nd Air Defense Brigade * 72nd Special Operations Brigade * 72nd Service Support Brigade

73rd Group Army

The 73rd Group Army () is headquartered in Bantou, Jimei District, Xiamen City, of

Fujian Province Fujian is a province in southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefecture city by population is Qua ...

– directly across the

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

from Taiwan. The 73rd Group Army's history begins in 1941 with the Shantung Column of the Shangtung Military Region. Undergoing a number of restructures and redesignations throughout the 1940s, eventually to become the 31st Corps. Unlike the predecessors of the 71st and 72nd Group Armies (12th and 1st Corps) of the Eastern Theater Command, the 73rd Group Army's predecessor (the 31st Corps) was not selected to deploy in the early 1950s Korean War and remained in Fujian Province to defend the Chinese mainland against a potential US-Taiwan invasion. Later in 1958, the 31st Corps took part in the artillery bombardment of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

's Kinmen (Quemoy) and Matsu Islands precipitating the

Second Taiwan Strait Crisis The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also known as the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC). The PRC shelled the islands of Kinmen (Quemoy) and the Matsu Is ...

. As the 12th Corps and 1st Corps were reorganized and redesignated as the 71st and 72nd Army Groups in China's 2015–2017 military reforms, the 31st Corps became the 73rd Army Group. As one of two group armies in the Eastern Theater Command with amphibious combined-arms brigades, the 73rd Group has been prominently featured by Chinese media conducting amphibious landing drills in Fujian Province demonstrating its capability to take part in the use of force against Taiwan. The 73rd Group Army is understood to consists of the below units. * Headquarters * 86th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade * 14th Amphibious Combined-Arms Brigade * 91st Amphibious Combined-Arms Brigade * 145th Medium Combined-Arms Brigade * 3rd Light Combined-Arms Brigade * 73rd Army Aviation Brigade * 73rd Artillery Brigade * 73nd Air Defense Brigade * 73rd Special Operations Brigade * 73rd Service Support Brigade

PLA Air Force

The Eastern Theater Command Air Force is the

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

(PLAAF) component of Eastern Theater Command and is led by commander Wu Junbao () who took office in December 2021 and political commissar Lieutenant General Zhong Weiguo () who took office in June 2019. The PLAAF has largely disestablished divisions and converted their subordinate regiments to brigades. With only the 10th Bomber Division remaining as a division, the Eastern Theater Command Air Force is composed of the following units. * 8th Fighter Brigade * 9th Fighter Brigade * 25th Fighter Brigade * 40th Fighter Brigade * 41st Fighter Brigade * 78th Fighter Brigade * 83rd Fighter Brigade * 85th Fighter Brigade * 95th Fighter Brigade * 10th Bomber Division ** 28th Bomber Regiment ** 29th Bomber Regiment ** 30th Bomber Regiment * 76th Air Regiment * 77th Air Regiment * 93rd Regiment * Unidentified drone attack brigade

PLA Navy

The

is a component of the Eastern Theater Command and one of the three Naval Fleets of the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...

. Its current commander is Vice Admiral Wang Zhongcai () and Vice Admiral Mei Wen () is its political commissar. * Eastern Theater Command Navy (

) **

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

Fleet Headquarters **

Naval Base ** Xiangshan Naval Base **

Naval Base **

Naval Base * 1st Coastal Defense Brigade (Shanghai) * 2nd Coastal Defense Brigade (Shanghai) * Coastal Defense Brigade (Fujian) * 13th Coastal Defense Division, (Jinjiang, Quanzhou) * 31st Pontoon Bridge Brigade PLA Naval Air Force * 1st Air Division (Shanghai) * 17th Air Regiment (Changzhou) * 5th Independent Bomber Regiment (Changzhou) * 4th Naval Aviation Brigade (Taizhou) * 11th Air Regiment (Ningbo) * 18th Air Regiment (JH-7)

PLA Rocket Force

The

People's Liberation Army Rocket Force The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, formerly the Second Artillery Corps, is the strategic missile, strategic and tactical missile force of the People's Republic of China. The PLARF is the 4th military branch, branch of the People's Li ...

(PLARF) component of Eastern Theater Command is Base 61 in Huangshan, Anhui. Base 61 has been regarded as the PLARF's "premier conventional base opposite Taiwan" where a number of senior PLARF leadership were likely to have been stationed. Base 61 traces its origins back to August 1965 with the establishment of Unit 121 in Guangyang Township, Shitai County which was responsible for the construction of missile silos under the PLA's Second Artillery Corps (predecessor to the PLARF) and led by Liao Changmei (). PLA Rocket Force 61st Base (Huangshan City, Anhui Province) The unit was converted into the Project 303 headquarters in June 1966 and remained until 25 May 1968 when the Central Military Commission renamed the headquarters to Base 52 of the Second Artillery Corps, the PLARF component of the

(predecessor to the Eastern Theater Command). PLA Rocket Force 61st Base (Huangshan City, Anhui Province) Base 52 comprised the 807th, 811th, 815th, 817th, 818th, 819th, 820th, and 827th Brigades armed with DF-21, DF-15C, DF-15A, DF-11A, CJ-10A, and DF-21C ballistic missiles. PLA Rocket Force 61st Base (Huangshan City, Anhui Province) In 2016 the newly established PLARF took command of Base 52 which would be redesignated as Base 61 and its subordinate brigades renamed 611 to 618.