People's Liberation Army |
---|
Executive departments |
Staff |
Services |
Arms |
Domestic troops |
Special operations force |
Military districts |
History of the Chinese military |
Military ranks of China |
The People's Liberation Army Navy[a], also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China. As of 2024[update], it is the second-largest navy in the world (behind the United States Navy) in terms of total displacement,[5] and the largest navy per number of ships in active service.[6][7]
The PLAN traces its lineage to maritime fighting units during the Chinese Civil War and was formally established on 23 April 1949.[8] Until the late 1980s, the PLAN was largely a riverine and littoral force (brown-water navy) mostly in charge of coastal defense and patrol against potential Nationalist amphibious invasions and territorial waters disputes in the East and South China Sea. In the 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and a shift towards a more forward-oriented foreign and national security policies, the leaders of the Chinese military were freed from worrying about overland border disputes with their northern neighbor. Traditionally a maritime support subordinate to the PLA Ground Force, PLAN leaders were now able to advocate for renewed attention toward the seas, and the PLAN became a green-water navy operating in the marginal seas within the range of coastal air parity.
Into the 21st century, Chinese military officials have outlined plans to operate with blue water capability in the first and second island chains.[9] Chinese strategists talk about the development of the PLAN from a green-water navy into "a regional blue-water defensive and offensive navy."[10] As the PLAN has expanded into a blue-water navy, regular exercises and naval patrols have increased in the South China Sea within the nine-dash line, the Senkaku Islands/Diaoyutai in the East China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait, which it all claims as its territory.[11][12][13] The People's Republic of China (PRC) along with the Republic of China (ROC, i.e. Taiwan), Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines each claims a significant amount of maritime boundary located within the South China Sea.[14][15] Some exercises and patrols of the PLAN in recent years went as close as the coastline of Japan, Taiwan, and Alaska within their EEZ although undisputed territorial waters have been not been crossed except in cases of innocent passage.[16][17][18][19]
The People's Liberation Army Navy is composed of five branches; the Submarine Force, the Surface Force, the Coastal Defense Force, the Marine Corps and the Naval Air Force. With a personnel strength of 240,000 personnel, including 15,000 marines and 26,000 naval air force personnel,[20] it is the second largest navy in the world by tonnage, at 2 million tons in 2021,[21] only behind the United States Navy, and has the largest number of major surface combatants of any navy globally with an overall battle force of approximately 370 surface ships and submarines[22]—in comparison, the United States Navy's battle force is approximately 292 ships and submarines.[23]
I am a member of the People's Liberation Army. I promise that I will follow the leadership of the Communist Party of China...
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha>
tags or {{efn}}
templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
template or {{notelist}}
template (see the help page).
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search