INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY THEATER COMMANDS

INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY THEATER COMMANDS

February 1, 2016

Today, we are holding this ceremony to inaugurate the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) theater commands and confer upon you the PLA flag. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission (CMC), I extend warm congratulations to all my comrades present, and to all officers and soldiers of the theater commands. 

The establishment of the Eastern Theater Command, the Southern Theater Command, the Western Theater Command, the Northern Theater Command, and the Central Theater Command, and of the joint operations command institutions at the theater level, is a strategic decision taken by the CPC Central Committee and the CMC to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation and achieve the Party’s goal of building a strong military. It is a landmark step to ensure full implementation of the strategy of strengthening the military through reform. It is a measure of historic significance adopted to improve the joint operations system of the PLA. It will have significant and far-reaching impact on our military and make it more capable of fighting and winning, and more effective in safeguarding national security.

The mission of the theater commands is to respond to security threats in the areas under your respective strategic command, maintain peace, deter conflicts, and win wars. The theater commands will play a pivotal role in implementing the national security strategy and our military strategies.

I hereby order that all theater commands must stay true to your mission, strive for the Party’s goal of building a strong military, implement the strategic military guidelines for the new era, and observe the underlying principle of the CMC exercising overall leadership, the theater commands overseeing military operations, and the services focusing on developing military capabilities. You should ensure that the joint operations command institutions in your theaters are absolutely loyal to the Party, capable of combat planning, effective in command, and determined to fight and win.

– All theater commands should unswervingly obey the Party’s command, uphold its absolute leadership over the armed forces, and strengthen the political loyalty of the armed forces. You should maintain your political commitment, think in terms of the general picture, follow the core leadership of the CPC Central Committee, and act in accordance with its requirements. You should align yourselves with the CPC Central Committee and the CMC, strictly observe political discipline and rules, and carry out to the letter orders and instructions issued by the CPC Central Committee and the CMC.

– All theater commands should focus on developing and improving combat capabilities. In order to secure the initiative in future wars, you should closely follow national security developments, broaden your strategic vision, study the dynamics of winning modern wars, fully understand the use of military force, its characteristics and the laws underlying its use, speed up the development of region-specific strategies, improve plans for operations, and strengthen the training of joint operations and joint command.

– All theater commands should establish effective command over joint operations, exercise authority of command conferred by the CMC, and fulfill related responsibilities. You should build up command capacity and rationalize the chain of command in line with the requirements of establishing a lean and efficient joint operations system composed of permanent and specialized command establishments for both peacetime and wartime operations. You should improve the mechanisms of joint command, joint operations, and joint logistic support, and ensure that your troops maintain combat readiness and accomplish military operations as required.

– All theater commands should be prepared to lead and fight at any time and always be ready to respond to the call of the Party and the people. You should keep in mind that our military is and will always be a force that fears neither hardship nor death and is brave and tenacious in combat. You should carry forward this fighting spirit and style in safeguarding China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, write a new chapter in the glorious history of the people’s armed forces, and live up to the expectations of the Party and the people.

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