Central Military Commission Joint Operations Command Center


The Central [Military Commission (China)|Central Military Commission] Joint Operations Command Center is the main command and control operations center of the combined forces of the People's Liberation Army. It is a Grades of the [armed forces of China|theater command grade] unit under the direct control of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party. Its main watch floor is located in an underground facility in the Haidian district of Beijing
The JOCC is the highest-level combat command & control unit in China, capable when active of commanding operations for all services in all the theaters. All the members of the CMC are members of the Command Center. There are local JOCOs at every command theater, which are subordinate to the Beijing JOCC.

History

The Joint Operations Command Center of the Central Military Commission was established at the beginning of the 21st century in part to coordinate air operations in the East China Sea. The center was originally affiliated to the General Staff Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and was responsible for the joint command of the three armed forces branches. Originally called the Joint Operations Command Bureau of the Operations Department of the General Staff Headquarters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Liu Yulin served as its deputy director.
By 2014, the Joint Operations Command Center was located in the Staff Department's Xishan Underground Command Compound at Dongsimu Village, Xianhongqi, Haidian District, Beijing, a compound at least 100 meters underground and designed to resist a nuclear strike.
At the Central Military Commission reform work conference in November 2015, it was proposed to "establish theater-level joint operations command organizations and improve the Military Commission's joint operations command organization". In January 2016 the center's parent organization General Staff Department of the PLA was abolished as part of the 2015 [People's Republic of China military reform|2015 military reforms] and the center was reorganized into the newly formed Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission. In 2016 the engineering design research and innovation team of the People's [Liberation Army Rocket Force] renovated the new Joint Operations Command Center. On 20 April 2016, General Secretary of the [Chinese Communist Party] Xi Jinping went on an inspection tour of the new facilities, and this was the first time the Center operating room was revealed to the public with photos. A visit to the JOCC in 2022 was also the first occasion in which Xi was referred to as "Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission" Some analysts interpreted this move as an attempt to display strength and strong leadership and as being more "political than military."
The JOCC was transferred from the Joint Staff Department to direct control by the CMC sometime in 2022

Organization

Theater Command's Joint Operations Command Centers

As part of the 2015 Reforms, on 1 February 2016 all the five new Theater Commands set up their own Joint Operations Command Centers under the control of the national JOCC.
  1. PLA Eastern Theater Joint Operations Command Center
  2. PLA Northern Theater Joint Operations Command Center
  3. PLA Western Theater Joint Operations Command Center
  4. PLA [Southern Theater Joint Operations Command Center]
  5. PLA [Central Theater Joint Operations Command Center]