Chengdu Military Region
(Chengdu Military Area Command, Chengdu War Zone)

Last updated: 17 January 2008

The Chengdu Military Region (MR), or Chengdu Military Area Command (MAC), is headquartered in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. Its area of responsibilities (AOR) covers the Chongqing Municipality, the three southwest provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, and the Tibet Autonomous Region. The military region is bordered to the south by Vietnam, Laos, and Burma, and to the southwest by Nepal and India. This is an inland military region with no coastline.

The Chengdu MR (including the Kunming MR it absorbed during the 1985 restructuring) witnessed two major border conflicts in the history of the People’s Republic of China: the 1962 border conflict with India, and a series of border conflicts with Vietnam in 1979 and throughout the 1980s. However, as China gradually repaired its relations with its two neighbours, the possibility of another major conflict in the region has been significantly decreased.

The Chengdu MR is regarded as the weakest among PLA’s seven military regions. Its ground forces include two group armies (13th and 14th), the Chongqing Garrison District, and four provincial military districts (MD): Sichuan, Yunan, Guizhou, and Tibet. The 13th Group Army (GA) is specialised in highland operations, while the 14th GA stationed near the Sino-Vietnam border is specialised in jungle warfare. The Tibet Military District enjoys more autonomy than most other provisional MDs.