Military modernization program sees mergers and restructuring

The past 12 months have seen China make large strides toward reshaping the People’s Liberation Army, strengthening its combat capability and modernizing its arsenal.

The PLA reorganized its group army-level units and cut the number of combined corps for the Ground Force from 18 to 13. It also shook up the military research system by merging some units and restructuring the three top institutes: the PLA Academy of Military Science; the PLA National Defense University; and the National University of Defense Technology.

In July, 12,000 troops and hundreds of large weapons and equipment, many of which had never been displayed in public before, participated in a grand parade, the first held at an exercise field in nearly four decades, to mark the 90th anniversary