Editing People's Liberation Army Navy (section)

===Branches===
====PLAN Surface Force====
[[File:RIMPAC_160720-N-KM939-138.jpg|thumb|250px|Sailors from the U.S. Navy talk with Chinese Navy sailors from the [[Chinese destroyer Xi'an (153)|destroyer ''Xi'an'']] after the [[Rim of the Pacific]] 2016 (RIMPAC 2016) exercise]]
{{Main|People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force}}
The People's Liberation Army Surface Force consists of all [[surface combatant|surface warship]]s in service with the PLAN.  They are organised into flotillas spread across the three main fleets.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

====PLAN Submarine Force====
{{Main|People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force}}
The People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force consists of all [[nuclear submarine|nuclear]] and [[diesel-electric submarine]]s in service with the PLAN.

The PRC is the last of the [[permanent members of the United Nations Security Council]] which has not conducted an operational [[ballistic missile submarine]] patrol, because of institutional problems.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/01/chinas-deceptively-weak-and-dangerous-military/ |title=China's Deceptively Weak (and Dangerous) Military |last1=Easton |first1=Ian|authorlink=Ian M. Easton |date=31 January 2014 |website=thediplomat.com |publisher=The Diplomat |access-date=3 February 2014}}</ref> It operates a fleet of 68 submarines.

====PLAN Coastal Defense Force====
{{Main|People's Liberation Army Navy Coastal Defense Force}}
The PLAN Coastal Defence Force is a land-based branch of the PLAN in charge of [[coastal defence and fortification|coastal defence]],{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} with a strength of around 25,000 personnel. Also known as the coastal defense troops, they serve to defend China's coastal and [[littoral]] areas from invasion via [[landing operation|amphibious landing]]s or [[Airstrike|air attacks]].

Between the 1950s and 1960s, the Coastal Defense Force was primarily assigned to repel any [[Kuomintang]] attempts to infiltrate, invade and harass the Chinese coastline.  After the [[Sino-Soviet split]] and the abandonment of [[Project National Glory|KMT's plans to recapture the Mainland]], the Coastal Defense Force was focused on defending China's coast from a possible [[Soviet]] sea-borne invasion throughout the 1960s to 1980s.

With the [[fall of the Soviet Union]], the threat of an amphibious invasion of China has diminished and therefore the branch is often considered to no longer be a vital component of the PLAN, especially as the surface warships of the PLAN continue to improve in terms of anti-ship and air-defence capabilities and the PLAN's [[power projection]] begins to extend beyond the [[first island chain]].

Today the primary weapons of the coastal defense troops are the [[YJ-62]], [[YJ-18]], [[YJ-12]], and [[C-602]] anti-ship missiles, plus [[Surface-to-air missile|SAM]] and [[Short range air defense|SHORAD]] batteries.

====PLAN Marine Corps====
{{Main|People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps}}
[[File:Shooting range at 1st Marine Brigade in Zhanjiang, China..jpg|thumb|250px|PLAN Marines of the 1st Marine Brigade and members of the [[USMC]] fire the [[Type 95 Assault Rifle]] during an exchange exercise in 2006.]]
[[File:140716-G-HN254-571 (14714332244).jpg|thumb|A PLAN marine with a boarding team assigned to the [[guided missile destroyer]] ''[[Chinese destroyer Haikou (171)|Haikou]]'' during a maritime operations exercise in [[RIMPAC]] 2014.]]
The PLAN Marine Corps was originally established in the 1950s and then re-established in 1979 under PLAN organisation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hanson |first1=Capt. Michael A. |title=China's Marine Corps Is on the Rise |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2020/april/chinas-marine-corps-rise |website=U.S. Naval Institute |date=April 2020 |access-date=16 July 2021}}</ref>  It consists of around 30,000-40,000 [[marines]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kennedy |first=Conor |date=2021-10-01 |title=China Maritime Report No. 15: The New Chinese Marine Corps: A "Strategic Dagger" in a Cross-Strait Invasion |url=https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-maritime-reports/15/ |journal=CMSI China Maritime Reports}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaushal |first=Sidharth |date=2022-09-07 |title=The Distinctive Force Structure of the Expanded PLA Navy Marine Corps |url=https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/rusi-defence-systems/distinctive-force-structure-expanded-pla-navy-marine-corps |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=RUSI}}</ref> with roughly two brigades in each theater. The Marine Corps are considered elite troops, and are [[rapid deployment force]]s trained primarily in [[amphibious warfare]] and sometimes in [[air assault]]s to establish a [[beachhead]] or act as a spearhead during assault operations against enemy targets.

The marines are equipped with the standard [[QBZ-95|Type 95 assault rifle]]s as well as other [[small arms]] and personnel equipment, and until 2022 they had distinct blue/littoral camouflage uniform as standard (now being replaced by more subdued coloring based on the [[Xingkong (camouflage)|xingkong]] pattern).  The marines are also equipped with [[amphibious vehicle|amphibious]] [[armoured fighting vehicle]]s (including amphibious [[assault gun|assault vehicle]]s such as the [[Type 05 amphibious fighting vehicle#Variants|ZTD-05]] and [[infantry fighting vehicle|IFV]]s such as [[Type 05 amphibious fighting vehicle#Variants|ZBD-05]]), [[military helicopter|helicopter]]s, [[naval artillery]], [[anti-aircraft]] weapon systems, and short range [[surface-to-air missile]]s.

With the PLAN's accelerating efforts to expand its capabilities beyond territorial waters, it would be likely for the Marine Corps to play a greater role in terms of being an offshore [[expeditionary warfare|expeditionary force]] similar to the [[United States Marine Corps|USMC]] and [[Royal Marines]].

====PLAN Air Force====
{{Main|People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force}}
The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF) is the [[naval aviation]] branch of the PLAN and has a strength of around 25,000 personnel and 690 aircraft.  It operates similar hardware than the [[People's Liberation Army Air Force]], including [[fighter aircraft]], [[bomber]]s, [[attack aircraft]], [[tanker (aircraft)|tanker]]s, [[reconnaissance aircraft|reconnaissance]]/[[airborne early warning and control|early warning aircraft]], [[electronic warfare aircraft]], [[maritime patrol aircraft]], [[military transport aircraft|transport aircraft]] and [[helicopter]]s of various roles.

The PLA Naval Air Force traditionally operated from coastal [[air base]]s, and received older aircraft than the PLAAF with less ambitious steps towards [[modernization of the People's Liberation Army|mass modernization]].  Advancements in new technologies, weaponry and aircraft acquisition were made after 2000.  With the introduction of China's first [[aircraft carrier]], ''[[Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning|Liaoning]]'', in 2012, the Naval Air Force began conducting [[carrier-based aircraft|carrier-based]] operations for the first time<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/politics/stories/chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-enters-service|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512153921/http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/politics/stories/chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-enters-service|url-status=dead|title=China's first aircraft carrier enters service|archive-date=12 May 2013|access-date=22 February 2022}}</ref> with the goal of building [[carrier battle group]]-focused [[blue water navy|blue water]] capabilities. In 2023, the PLANAF transferred the majority of its land-based combat planes to the PLAAF, in exchange for more investment on ship-based aircraft (both carrier based like the [[Shenyang J-35]], or ship-borne like helicopters).<ref name=":1" />

The PLANAF naval air bases include:
* North Sea Fleet: [[Dalian]], [[Qingdao]], [[Huludao|Jinxi]], [[Jiyuan]], [[Laiyang]], [[Jiaoxian]], [[Xingtai]], [[Laishan]], [[Anyang]], [[Changzhi]], [[Liangxiang]] and [[Shanhaiguan District|Shan Hai Guan]]
* East Sea Fleet: [[Danyang, Jiangsu|Danyang]], [[Daishan]], Shanghai ([[Dachang]]), [[Ningbo]], [[Luqiao District|Luqiao]], [[Feidong]] and [[Shitangqiao]]
* South Sea Fleet: [[Foluo]], [[Haikou]], [[Lingshui Li Autonomous County|Lingshui]], [[Sanya]], [[Guiping]], [[Jialaishi]] and [[Yongzhou|Lingling]]