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

Last updated: 4 January 2008

The Shenyang Command is a joint-service theatre headquarters responsible for the operational command and control of the ground,  air, and armed police forces located in China’s northeast region in wartime. The Shenyang Command is formed around the structure of the Shenyang Military Region (MR) headquarters, with staffs from the Shenyang Military Region Air Force (MRAF) and the People’s Armed Police (PAP) forces.

The area of responsibility (AOR) of the Shenyang Command includes the three northeast provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning, as well as the four northeast administrative areas of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region: Hulun Buir City, Hinggan League, Tongliao City, and Chifeng City. It covers 787,300 square kilometres (8.2% of the PRC’s total land area) land area and a population of 107 million (8.4% of the total PRC population).

The region is separated from the Russina Far East largely by the Amur, Argun, and Ussuri rivers, from North Korea by the Yalu and Tumen rivers, and from the Inner Mongolian by the Greater Khingan Range. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain.

In history, the northeast China region was first invaded and occupied by the Russians in the late 19th century, and later by the Japanese in the early 20th century. During the WWII, the region was under the ruling of the Japanese and its puppet state of Manchukuo. In 1945, the Soviet Union invaded the region as  part of its declaration of war against Japan. From 1945 to 1948, the Northeast MR was a base area for the PLA in the Chinese Civil War.

After the founding of the PRC in 1949, the Northeast MR (renamed Shenyang MR in 1955) was responsible for the defence of the northeast industrial zone. During the 1950s Korean War, the Northeast/Shenyang MR served as the main rear base for the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (PVA) fighting in Korea.

Following a series of clashes between Chinese and Soviet forces in the Amur-Ussuri border areas in 1969, the Shenyang MR saw a dramatic expansion. In its peak time in the 1970s~1980s, the PLA deployed nearly 1 million troops and militia in the region to counter the extensive build-up of Soviet forces along the Sino-Soviet border.

After the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the relation between China and Russia became much closer. In 1991, the Sino-Russian Border Agreement was signed apportioning territory that became contested during the Sino-Soviet border conflict. Later a military limitation treaty and information disclosure agreement were also signed to reduce the mutual threat. As a result, the Shenyang MR saw some significant reduction in its forces in the 1990s.

Currently, the ground forces units under the Shenyang Command include three group armies (16th, 39th, and 40th), as well as border defence and reserve troops subordinated to the three provincial military districts. The 16th (Motorised) Group Army and the 39th (Mechanised) Group Army are deployed near the Sino-Korean border, while the 40th (Motorised) Group Army is deployed in the southern part of the region.

The People's Armed Police (PAP) has two mobile divisions (117th and 120th) stationed in Liaoning Province. The Second Artillery Corps 051 Base with its three subordinated missile launch brigades is located in Jilin and Liaoning Province.

There is no naval forces under the Shenyang Command, though its operations are likely to be supported by the PLA Navy North Sea Fleet in wartime.