PLA considers setting up joint command for era of modern warfare

The People's Liberation Army is considering establishing a joint operational command to improve co-ordination between its different parts.

The Ministry of National Defence said the reform was necessary for electronic and information warfare and was a common trend around the world.

A ministry statement said that after studying the issue it would "deepen reform at an opportune time, creating a path of reform for a joint operational command system with Chinese characteristics".

The news comes after a Communist Party plenum in November said the PLA should improve co-ordination geographically and between its different military branches.

The defence ministry's statement did not give a timeframe for the reform, nor specific details of the future structure. The Japanese newspaper reported this week that China was planning to cut the number of military area commands from seven to five.

Citing anonymous senior military officials, the report said each of the five areas would have a joint operations command for ground, naval and air forces, and the strategic missile corps.