In 1979, it was rebranded as the Urumqi Military Region; in June 1985, it amalgamated with the Lanzhou Military Region and concurrently established the Xinjiang Military Region, which operated at the corps level under the auspices of the Lanzhou Military Region; in April 1992, it was elevated to full military status following the dissolution of the corps-level structure; in October 1998, it was promoted to the status of vice-great-military region.[5]
The XMD covers the contested area of Aksai Chin, and it is a sensitive hotspot in China's borders. In 2020, it was the XMD that got involved in skirmishes and a protracted stand-off with India.[7]
Recently (as of 2024) there have been efforts to create a "six-in-one" border defense system, in which the PLA, the police, the militia, party officials, government officials, and civilians would cooperate in patrolling the enormously long and harsh border of both the Xinjiang and Tibet MDs, with an emphasis on local nomadic tribes that know the terrain and are highly mobile by definition.[8]
Territorial Command Divisions
The XMD is divided into the northern district and the southern Xinjiang subdistrict (Nanjiang), which is a Corps-graded (正军级) unit responsible for the volatile Sino-Indian border.[9]
These two main sub-areas are then divided into the following command sectors, generally comprising a prefecture:
XPCC Military Department (Corps Deputy grade) 新疆生产建设兵团军事部
Current Military Units
As of 2022, the People's Liberation Army Ground Force units garrisoning the District are as follows (including their main garrison location). Xinjiang is one of the few military regions in which full divisions are still retained as an organizational level post the 2015 reforms (which reduced most divisions into combined arms brigades).[2] Due to the very long border it patrols, there are also fifteen Border Defense regiments assigned as well as the main maneuver force.
The Border Defense regiments cover some of the most challenging terrain in the world, and it is occasionally reported that some units still use horses for patrolling.[15]
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