A new information warfare department is being set up under the direct command of China’s top military leaders in Beijing’s largest restructuring of its armed forces in more than eight years.
The Financial Times reports that analysts say the shift of information warfare to the direct command of the Central Military Commission — the top Communist party and state organ that controls the People’s Liberation Army — would hand Chinese leader Xi Jinping even more direct control over the military.
Xi said at a ceremony in Beijing on Friday that the Information Support Force would ‘speed up military modernisation and effectively implement the mission of the people’s armed forces in the new era’.
Japan’s public media organisation, NHK, reports that leaders in China want to strengthen the military in the lead-up to 2027, when the People’s Liberation Army marks its centenary.
[Image: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay]