People's Liberation Army Navy

People's Liberation Army Navy
Emblem of the People's Liberation Army Navy
Founded	23 April 1949; 75 years ago (1949-04-23)
Country	People's Republic of China
Allegiance	Chinese Communist Party[1]
Type	Navy
Role	Naval warfare
Size	252,000 active personnel (2024)[2] 680 ships (2024)[3] 198 aircraft (2024)[4]
Part of	People's Liberation Army
March	人民海军向前进 ("The People's Navy Marches Forward")
Fleet	3 aircraft carriers 4 landing helicopter docks 12 amphibious transport docks 32 landing ship tanks 33 landing ship mediums 58 destroyers 54 frigates 75 corvettes 150 missile boats 26 submarine chasers 17+ gunboats 36 mine countermeasure vessels 79 submarines 19 replenishment ships 232 auxiliaries
Engagements	Chinese Civil War Vietnam War[citation needed] Sino-Vietnamese War[citation needed] Johnson South Reef Skirmish Anti-piracy operations in Somalia
Website	Official website
Commanders
Commander	Admiral Hu Zhongming
Political Commissar	Admiral Yuan Huazhi
Chief of Staff	Admiral Liu Zizhu
Insignia
Flag and ensign
Jack
Badge
Sleeve badge
Aircraft flown
Electronic warfare	Y-8
Fighter	J-11, J-15
Helicopter	Z-8, Z-9, Mi-8, Z-10, Ka-28, AS365
Interceptor	J-7, J-8
Patrol	Y-8, Y-9
Reconnaissance	Y-9
Trainer	JL-8, JL-9
Transport	Y-7, Y-9
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	中国人民解放军海军
Traditional Chinese	中國人民解放軍海軍
Literal meaning	China People Liberation Army Sea Army
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Hǎijūn
People's Navy
Simplified Chinese	人民海军
Traditional Chinese	人民海軍
Literal meaning	People Navy
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Rénmín Hǎijūn
Chinese Navy
Simplified Chinese	中国海军
Traditional Chinese	中國海軍
Literal meaning	China Navy
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Hǎijūn

People's Liberation Army
Executive departments
Central Military Commission Ministry of National Defense
Staff
Chairman of the CMC Joint Staff Department of the CMC Political Work Department of the CMC Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CMC
Services
Ground Force  Navy  Air Force Rocket Force
Arms
Aerospace Force Cyberspace Force Information Support Force Joint Logistics Support Force
Domestic troops
People's Armed Police China Coast Guard Militia Maritime Militia
Special operations force
PLA Special Operations Forces Special Police Unit of the PAP Snow Leopard Commando Unit Mountain Eagle Commando Unit
Military districts
Eastern Theater Command Southern Theater Command Western Theater Command Northern Theater Command Central Theater Command
History of the Chinese military
Military history of China
Military ranks of China
Ranks of the PLA Ground Force Ranks of the PLA Navy Ranks of the PLA Air Force
v t e

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 standing armed force 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]

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