Editing People's Liberation Army Navy (section)

==Future of the People's Liberation Army Navy==
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{{See also|Chinese aircraft carrier programme}}
[[File:Geographic Boundaries of the First and Second Island Chains.png|thumb|right|250px|Geographic boundaries of the First and Second Island Chains]]

The PLAN's ambitions include operating out to the first and second island chains, as far as the South Pacific near Australia, and spanning to the [[Aleutian islands]], and operations extending to the [[Straits of Malacca]] near the Indian Ocean.<ref name=AR2008>Annual Report to Congress, ''Military Power of the People's Republic of China''. Retrieved 22 May 2008</ref>

Between 2001 and 2006 there was a rapid building and acquisition program,<ref name=AR2008/> a trend which continued. There were more than a dozen new classes of ships built in those five years,<ref name=AR2008/> totaling some 60 brand new ships (including landing ships and auxiliaries).<ref name=AR2008/> Simultaneously, dozens of other ships have been either phased out of service or refitted with new equipment.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Ronald O'Rourke of the [[Congressional Research Service]] reported that the long-term goals of PLAN planning include:
* Assert or defend China's claims in maritime territorial disputes and China's interpretation of international laws relating to freedom of navigation in exclusive economic zones (an interpretation at odds with the U.S. interpretation);
* Protect China's sea lines of communications to the Persian Gulf, on which China relies for some of its energy imports.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://opencrs.com/document/RL33153 |title=China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress |publisher=Opencrs.com |access-date=25 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014075005/http://opencrs.com/document/RL33153/ |archive-date=14 October 2010 }}</ref>

Following the construction of its two smaller aircraft carriers, China began building the Type 003 carrier.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Progress Report on China's Type 003 Carrier|url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/progress-report-chinas-type-003-carrier|access-date=19 November 2021|website=www.csis.org|date=14 July 2021 |language=en |last1=Funaiole |first1=Matthew P. |last2=Jr |first2=Joseph S. Bermudez }}</ref>

The PLAN may also operate from [[Gwadar]] or Seychelles for anti-piracy missions and to protect vital trade routes which may endanger China's energy security in the case of a conflict.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} In 2016, China established her first overseas [[Chinese naval base in Djibouti|naval base in Djibouti]].