The Eastern Theater Command () is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The command is headquartered in Nanjing.
Founded on 1 February 2016, the command replaced the Nanjing Military Region. Its jurisdiction includes the provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, as well as Shanghai and the East China Sea to include the Taiwan Strait. The Eastern Theater Command is primarily composed of three subordinate single-service component commands: the Eastern Theater Ground Force of the PLAGF, the East Sea Fleet of the PLAN, and the Eastern Theater Command Air Force of the PLAAF which conduct combat operations within the command's area of responsibility. Also under the Eastern Theater Command is the Wuxi 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.
Area of responsibility Eastern Theater Command's area of responsibility (AOR) includes East China, the East China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait. The command's primary missions are maintaining security in the East China Sea and the conduct of major operations against Taiwan, including the Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu Islands. It is also likely responsible for matters relating to Japan, including the Ryukyu Archipelago, the Tsushima Strait and the disputed Senkaku Islands.
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 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 Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, the Eastern Theater Command conducted joint ground, air, and naval military exercises including live-fire drills, missile launches over Taipei, and Taiwanese Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) incursions. Another set of Chinese military exercises around Taiwan by the command began on 8 April 2023, after president Tsai visited U.S. Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California. Upon taking office, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te stated that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other, prompting China to conduct military exercises codenamed Joint Sword-2024A. In October 2024, China conducted further military exercises named Joint Sword-2024B. In April 2025, China launched the Strait Thunder–2025A exercises. On 29 December, the Eastern Theater Command announced a major military exercise around Taiwan codenamed Justice Mission 2025, involving the command's land, sea, air, and rocket forces.
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 Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, 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 (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 brigades: six combined-arms brigades (CA-BDEs) and six support brigades including aviation, artillery, air defense, CBRN, special operations forces (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, Jiangsu) 302nd Coastal Defense Brigade (海防第302旅) (Zhoushan, Zhejiang) 302nd Brigade's Boat Group (302旅船艇大隊) 303rd Coastal Defense Brigade (海防第303旅) (Changle, Fujian) 303rd Brigade's Boat Group (303旅船艇大隊) 304th Coastal Defense Brigade (海防第304旅) (Xiamen, Fujian) 304th Brigade's Boat Group (304旅船艇大隊) 31st Pontoon Bridge Brigade (舟橋31旅) (Nanjing, Jiangsu 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) (Xiamen, Fujian) 1st Communication Support Brigade (信息保障第1旅) (Xuzhou, Jiangsu; Mawei, Fujian) 1st Brigade Electronic Counter Measures (電子對抗第1旅) (Xiamen, Fujian)
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 accordance with the Regulation of the Redesignations of All Organizations and Units of the Army, issued by Central Military Commission on 1 November 1948. 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 mobilized at least 14 of the PLA's 24 group armies to enforce martial law against student-led protests in Tiananmen Square 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.(Chinese)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 Xuzhou, Jiangsu, the composition of the 71st Group Army matches the Chinese doctrinal 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 (), headquartered in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, originates from the 1930 activation of the 2nd Red Army in Hunan which took part in Mao's famous Long March. The 2nd Red Army was reorganized and redesignated as the 1st Corps in February 1947 taking an active role in the Chinese Civil War include in the battles for Shanzong, Fumei, and Longdong.William W. Whitson, with Chen-hsia Huang. (1973) The Chinese high command; a history of Communist military politics, 1927-71. Foreword by Lucian W. Pye. 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.Witson 1972, 114(?) 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, in Fujian Province – directly across the strait from Taiwan.William W. Whitson (w/ Chen-hsia Huang). The Chinese High Command: A History of Communist Military Politics, 1927-71 (New York: Praeger; 1973) 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.Richard H. Yang eds. China's Military: The PLA in 1992/1993 (Taipei: Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies; 1993): p. 191-2 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's Kinmen (Quemoy) and Matsu Islands precipitating the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. 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 (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