Xi: a crucial role for the new PLA force

President Xi Jinping on Friday unveiled the new branch of China's military, the People's Liberation Army Information Support Force, calling it a vital power in modern warfare.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, handed over the new force's flag to its commander, Lt. Gen. Bi Yi, and the unit's political commissar, General Li Wei, during the force creation ceremony at the CMC headquarters building in Beijing.

The President issued his instructions to the Information Support Force, ordering it to strive to become a powerful and modernized unit.

He said the establishment of the Information Support Force was a major decision of the CPC Central Committee and the CMC, aimed at building a strong PLA, and a strategic step in establishing a new service structure. and improving the military system with Chinese characteristics.

“This is of profound and far-reaching significance to the modernization of national defense and armed forces and the military's fulfillment of its missions and tasks in the new era,” Xi said. “The Information Support Force is a brand-new strategic branch of the PLA and a key pillar of the integrated development and utilization of the networked information system. It plays an important role and bears great responsibility in promoting the PLA's high-quality development and ability to fight and win in modern warfare.

The president ordered that the new force be absolutely loyal to the Party.

He emphasized that the unit must focus on its primary task of using information resources to support combat operations. It must maintain the flow of information, integrate information resources, protect information security, and deeply integrate into the army's joint operations system.

The Commander-in-Chief also urged the new force to stimulate innovation, strengthen coordination and integration between different systems, cooperate with other forces and strengthen the sharing of assets. It should form a networked information system capable of supporting modern combat operations and having Chinese characteristics, Xi noted.

According to a decision made by the CMC, the Information Support Force is directly led by the CMC, and the official designation of the Strategic Support Force, founded in December 2015 to support space, cyberspace and warfare operations electronic, is canceled. .

In the meantime, the leadership and structures of the PLA Space Force and PLA Cyberspace Force have been reorganized accordingly, the CMC said.

The announcement also marks the first time China has confirmed the existence of the Space Force and Cyberspace Force, which are widely considered major elements of the Strategic Support Force.

Colonel Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, told reporters at a press conference on Friday evening that with the latest overhaul, the PLA now has four services, namely the ground force, the Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force. and several subbranches, including the Space Force, Cyberspace Force, Information Support Force, and Joint Logistics Support Force.

In response to a question about the newly declassified Space Force, Wu said the construction of this force is of great importance to enhance the ability to safely travel in space, openly and peacefully develop space resources and to improve governance and crisis management in space.

“China's space policy is clear and clear. We are always committed to the peaceful use of space and are ready to work with all countries with the same commitment to strengthen exchanges, deepen cooperation and contribute to a lasting peace and common security in outer space,” the statement said. the spokesperson said.

Asked whether the Cyber ​​Force was being used to “weaponize the Internet,” Wu said cybersecurity remained a global challenge and posed a serious threat to China.

“The development of cyberspace force and cybersecurity and defense tools is important to strengthen national cyberspace defense, quickly detect and counter network intrusions and maintain our cyber sovereignty and information security,” a- he declared.

Jiang Chenglong contributed to this story.