Editing People's Liberation Army Navy (section)

===2010s and 2020s===
[[File:Chinese visit 151103-N-PP197-213.jpg|thumb|PLAN Captain Wang, commanding officer of the [[Chinese destroyer Jinan (152)|destroyer ''Jinan'']] greets USN Captain Lyle Hall during a goodwill port visit in 2015]]
[[File:PLANS Changchun (150), Penang Strait, Penang.jpg|thumb|A [[Type 052C destroyer]], ''[[Chinese destroyer Changchun (150)|Changchun]]'', in [[Butterworth, Penang|Butterworth]], Penang, Malaysia in 2017<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2017/05/13/chinese-warships-visit-penang-700-crew-members-to-take-part-in-activities-over-three-days/ |title = Chinese warships visit Penang – Community {{!}} The Star Online |website=www.thestar.com.my |access-date=16 May 2017 |date = 13 May 2017 }}</ref>]]
Beginning in 2009, China ordered 4 [[Zubr-class LCAC]] from Ukraine and bought 4 more from the Hellenic Navy (Greece). These hovercraft/LCACs are built to send troops and armored vehicles (tanks, etc.) onto beaches in a fast manner, acting as a landing craft, and were viewed to be a direct threat to Taiwan's pro-independence movement as well as the conflict over [[Senkaku Islands]]. China is continually shifting the power balance in Asia by building up the Navy's Submarines, Amphibious warfare, and surface warfare capabilities.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Between 5–12 July 2013, a seven-ship task force from the [[North Sea Fleet]] joined warships from the [[Russian Pacific Fleet]] to participate in [[Joint Sea 2013]], bilateral naval maneuvers held in the [[Peter the Great Bay]] of the [[Sea of Japan]]. To date, Joint Sea 2013 was the largest naval drill yet undertaken by the People's Liberation Army Navy with a foreign navy.<ref>{{cite web |last=Chan |first=Minnie |date=3 July 2013 |title=China to join Russia in joint naval drills in Sea of Japan |url=http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1274241/china-join-russia-joint-naval-drills-sea-japan |access-date=2 July 2013 |work=[[South China Morning Post]]}}; and {{cite news |date=2 July 2013 |title=China to join Russia in Beijing's largest-ever joint naval exercise with foreign partner |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-to-join-russia-in-beijings-largest-ever-joint-naval-exercise-with-foreign-partner/2013/07/02/a1bbd30a-e2e4-11e2-8657-fdff0c195a79_story.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111200104/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-to-join-russia-in-beijings-largest-ever-joint-naval-exercise-with-foreign-partner/2013/07/02/a1bbd30a-e2e4-11e2-8657-fdff0c195a79_story.html |archive-date=11 January 2019}}</ref>

On 2 April 2015, during the [[aftermath of the 2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état|violent aftermath]] of a [[2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état|coup d'état]] in Yemen and amid an [[2015 military intervention in Yemen|international bombing campaign]], the PLAN helped ten countries get their citizens out of Yemen safely, evacuating them aboard a missile frigate from the [[Southern Yemen offensive (2015)|besieged]] port city of [[Aden]]. The operation was described by [[Reuters]] as "the first time that China's military has helped other countries evacuate their people during an international crisis".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/china-led-evacuation-from-war-torn-yemen-said-to-include-canadians-1.3020527|agency=CBC News|title=China-led evacuation from war-torn Yemen said to include Canadians|date=3 April 2015|access-date=3 April 2015}}</ref>

China's participation in international maritime exercises is also increasing. In [[Exercise RIMPAC#RIMPAC 2014|RIMPAC 2014]], China was invited to send ships from their People's Liberation Army Navy; marking not only the first time China participated in a RIMPAC exercise but also the first time China participated in a large-scale United States-led naval drill.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-drill-idUSBRE92L18A20130322|title=China to attend major U.S.-hosted naval exercises, but role limited|first=Phil|last=Stewart|newspaper=Reuters|date=22 March 2013}}</ref> On 9 June 2014, China confirmed it would be sending four ships to the exercise, a destroyer, frigate, supply ship, & hospital ship.<ref>{{cite news|title=China confirms attendance at U.S.-hosted naval exercises in June|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-defence-idUSKBN0EK07820140609|access-date=10 June 2014|work=Reuters|date=9 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Tiezzi|first1=Shannon|title=A 'Historic Moment': China's Ships Head to RIMPAC 2014|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/06/a-historic-moment-chinas-ships-head-to-rimpac-2014/|access-date=10 June 2014|work=The Diplomat |url-access=subscription |date=11 June 2014}}</ref> In April 2016, the People's Republic of China was also invited to RIMPAC 2016 despite the tension in South China Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.usni.org/2016/04/18/secdef-carter-china-still-invited-to-rimpac-2016-despite-south-china-sea-tension|title=SECDEF Carter: China Still Invited to RIMPAC 2016 Despite South China Sea Tension |website=USNI News|date=18 April 2016 |first1=Megan |last1=Eckstein |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004135059/https://news.usni.org/2016/04/18/secdef-carter-china-still-invited-to-rimpac-2016-despite-south-china-sea-tension |archive-date= Oct 4, 2023 }}</ref>

PRC military expert [[Yin Zhuo]] said that due to present weaknesses in the PLAN's ability to replenish their ships at sea, their future aircraft carriers will be forced to operate in pairs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.people.com.cn/90786/8397264.html|title=Expert: One Chinese aircraft carrier insufficient to cope with high-intensity combat – People's Daily Online|author=F_161|access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref>
In a TV interview, [[Zhang Zhaozhong (military official)|Zhang Zhaozhong]] suggest otherwise, saying China is "unlikely to put all her eggs in one basket" and that the navy will likely rotate between carriers rather than deploy them all at once.

In 2017, PLAN hospital ship ''[[Peace Ark]]'' traveled to Djibouti (treating 7,841 Djiboutians), Sierra Leone, Gabon, Republic of Congo (treating 7,508 Congolese), Angola, Mozambique (treating 9,881 Mozambiquans), and Tanzania (treating 6,421 Tanzanians).''<ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last1=Shinn |first1=David H. |title=China's Relations with Africa: a New Era of Strategic Engagement |last2=Eisenman |first2=Joshua |date=2023 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-21001-0 |location=New York |author-link=David H. Shinn}}</ref>{{Rp|page=284}}''

The PLAN continued its expansion into the 2020s, increasing its operational capacity, commissioning new ships, and constructing naval facilities.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sutton|first=H. I.|date=17 December 2020|title=Beijing Upgrading Naval Bases To Strengthen Grip On South China Sea|url=https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/12/beijing-upgrading-naval-bases-to-strengthen-grip-on-south-china-sea/|access-date=20 December 2020|website=Naval News|language=en-US}}</ref> Observers note that the PLAN's ongoing modernization is intended to build up the Chinese surface fleet and fix existing issues that limit the capability of the PLAN. Observers have noted that the PLAN's expansion will allow it to project Chinese power in the South China Sea and allow for the navy to counter the USN's operations in Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress|url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL33153|journal=Congressional Research Service|pages=2}}</ref> Chinese naval capability increased substantially in the 2010s and 2020s. In two decades, the PLA Navy fielded 4,300 [[vertical launching system]] (VLS) cells on its surface combatants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/military-balance/2024/12/closing-the-gap-china-homes-in-on-us-navy-vls-advantage/ |title=Closing the gap: China homes in on US Navy VLS advantage |website=The International Institute for Strategic Studies |date=20 December 2024 |first=Johannes |last=R. Fischbach }}</ref> According to the US-based think tank [[RAND Corporation]], PLAN enjoyed major advantages in terms of naval technologies, missiles, and tonnage against regional rivals such as Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and India.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}