New academies to boost military training

The Central Military Commission has decided to establish three new military academies in Hefei, Wuhan and Chongqing, in a move to enhance military talent training.

At an online news conference on Thursday, Defense Ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said the commission recently approved the creation of three institutions: the university of branch arms of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, the engineering university of the PLA Information Support Force and the engineering university of the PLA Joint Logistic Support Force.

The main campuses of the three universities will be located in Hefei, capital of Anhui province; Wuhan, capital of Hubei province; and the municipality of Chongqing, he said.

The university of branch arms is being formed by merging the Army Academy of Armored Forces with the PLA Army Academy of Artillery and Air Defense.

The engineering university of the Information Support Force is based on the College of Information and Communication of the PLA National University of Defense Technology and the communication noncommissioned officer school of the Army Engineering University of the PLA.

The engineering university of the Joint Logistic Support Force is being established from the Army Logistics Academy and the Army Military Transportation Academy.

Zhang Junshe, a former researcher at the PLA Naval Research Academy, said the move is part of broader reforms in national defense and military development.

He said the university of branch arms appears to integrate training for armored, artillery and air defense units, and is believed to be the PLA's first university dedicated to branch-specific education.

"This move consolidates the teaching resources related to information support and joint logistic support from various institutions across the country, making management more convenient and enhancing the professionalism of education," Zhang said. "The goal is to achieve an effect where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."