China's Military Reform under Xi Jinping and the Sino-Indian Border Dispute: Focusing on Organizing Structure

Abstract

Unlike other civilian leaders, Xi Jinping pushed ahead with sweeping military reforms after taking office as General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. This was a reaction to the situation in which the chairman had not been able to secure control of the military since Deng Xiaoping. Through anti-corruption, Xi Jinping eliminated high-ranking officials who used the military as a tool for personal gain, and tried to eliminate trafficking of official posts and factions within the military. In addition, through structural reorganization, the power of command of the military commander, who had been ineffective, was clarified. The 4 headquarters that interfered with the commander's command system were dismantled and reconstituted as an organization that assisted the military commission. The defense- oriented 7 military districts were also reorganized into 5 theater to prepare for both peacetime and wartime. And the army was established to break the grand army principle, strengthen the status of other forces necessary for modern warfare, and rearrange the composition of troops for them. The theater is not just a defense system, but a system responsible for operations. Accordingly, the eastern theater was responsible for Taiwan, the southern theater was responsible for the South China Sea and Vietnam, the western theater was responsible for India and Central Asia, the northern theater was responsible for the Korean Peninsula, and the central theater was responsible for the mission of the strategic reserve force. In general, it is evaluated that the risk of war in the Taiwan Strait, which is in charge of the Eastern Front, is the highest. However, the area where the largest number of troops are actually deployed is in the Western Front. There are two group army, as well as Xinjiang and Xizang military district. This is because west operation area is vast and its borders are very long, even though China has continuously pushed for weapon modernization. In addition, India is the only country that China does not have a border agreement with, and continues to confront each other across the LAC. In addition, the region should be responsible for operations in Central Asia in case of emergency. Therefore, west are organizing units and distributing weapons with the possibility of a small-scale armed clash or conflict rather than a large-scale war. In fact, it is judged that the possibility of an armed conflict in this area is much higher than in the Taiwan Strait.