A Z-JH8 helicopter sits on the deck of the Chinese People Liberation Army Naval hospital ship Peace Ark at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, July 5, 2014.
A Z-JH8 helicopter sits on the deck of the Chinese People Liberation Army Naval hospital ship Peace Ark at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, July 5, 2014. RIMPAC is the world's largest biennial naval exercise between the US and Pacific Rim nations and for the first time includes China. Twenty-two countries are participating. REUTERS

Concerned over the increasing global space race and cyberwars, Beijing has set up two new units in its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to tackle the twin threats.

The two units, inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping, will operate separately from the ground forces command, reports the South China Morning Post. The units, dedicated to outer space and cyber operations, have been dubbed the Ballistic Force and the Strategic Support Force and will be commanded by Gen. Wei Fenghe and Gen. Li Zuocheng, respectively.

The Ballistic Force is a breakaway from the 2nd Artillery Unit that has been in charge of developing missiles. It will carry on the same functions with the additional responsibility of spacecraft innovation. The Strategic Support Force will spearhead the "technological war," both in space and over the Internet.

The two new units are in addition to the PLA general command, reports the Macau Daily Times. As part of the reforms, China is also phasing out old equipment and developing new weapon systems.

Xi said the three new units were created as part of a modernisation reform and “to realize the Chinese dream of a strong military.” Military modernisation comes at a crucial time for China, amid growing tensions with neighbours like the Philippines and Vietnam over sovereignty issues in archipelagos of the South China Sea, such as the Spratly and Paracel islands, reports Fox News.

Though, in September 2014, Xi announced a reduction of China’s 2.3 million-strong army by 300,000 troops in a bid to show that his country had no expansion plans, the Chinese army still remains the world’s largest.

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