Western Theater Command

Map of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with disputed areas claimed by China shown in blue.

Map of Tibet Autonomous Region with disputed areas claimed by China shown in blue.

Its jurisdiction includes Sichuan, Tibet, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Chongqing.^[1] Guizhou is also sometimes listed as part of the command.^[1] Western Theater Command's Area of Responsibility (AOR) consists of India, South Asia, Central Asia, Western Mongolia, Pakistan and Afghanistan

In May 2016, the PRC raised the rank and status of its western Tibet Military Command to widen its scope for missions and combat preparedness, in a move analysts in Beijing said was aimed in part at fortifying the border with India.^[2] The Xinjiang Military Command may also be elevated in the future, the report said. Both commands are under the newly created Western Theater Command, the largest of five newly reorganised military regions of the PLA. The Chinese Communist Party-run tabloid Global Times reported the change would allow the command "to shoulder more combat assignments".^[2]

The Western Theater Command consists of the following components:

• Western Theater Command Ground Force
• Western Theater Command Air Force
  • 33rd Fighter Division
  • 44th Fighter Division
  • 6th Fighter Division
  • 36th Bomber Division
  • 37th Fighter Division
  • 4th Transport Division^{[citation needed]}

Released on 4 November 2020, the Western Theater Command released "The Battle Hymn of the Western Theater Command" (Chinese: 西部战区战歌; pinyin: Xībù zhànqū zhàngē) with lyrics written by the then commander of the Western Theater Command, General Zhao Zongqi and music composed by Luan Kai.^[3]

• Western Theater Command Ground Force
• Western Theater Command Air Force
• Territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China
• List of People's Liberation Army Air Force airbases