The People's Liberation Army Macao Garrison is a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), responsible for defense duties in the

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

Special Administrative Region (SAR) since the

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

of Macau was transferred to China in 1999. The PLA stations between 500 and 600 troops in Macau, primarily as a symbolic presence to underscore Chinese sovereignty. The remainder of the 1,200-strong Macau garrison resides just across the Chinese border in

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pear ...

. Although the

Macao Basic Law The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( zh, 中華人民共和國澳門特別行政區基本法, pt, Lei Básica da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau da República Popular da China) is ...

states that the Macau SAR government may "when necessary" ask the

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

to allow the garrison to assist in maintaining public order or disaster relief,

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Edmund Ho Edmund Ho Hau-wah, GOIH, GML, GCM (born 13 March 1955) is a Macau politician who served as the first Chief Executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region from 1999 to 2009. He currently serves as a Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Peopl ...

has said that, in keeping with the Basic Law the garrison will play no role in

internal security Internal security is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing territories, generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats. Responsibility for internal secu ...

. The garrison has maintained a low profile, with soldiers generally wearing civilian clothing when off base and not engaging in business activities.

Mission

According to the Law on Stationing Troops in the Macau Special Administrative Region (or Macao Garrison Law, passed by the NPC Standing Committee on June 28, 1999), the mission of the PLA in Macau is to defend the special administrative region by "preventing and resisting aggression; safe-guarding the security of Macau; undertaking defense services; managing military facilities; and handling related foreign military affairs." The PLA can also be called upon by the chief executive to help maintain public order and assist with disaster relief efforts. The members of the garrison are mainly ground force troops.

2017 Typhoon Hato

At the request of Macau SAR Government, the PLA Macao Garrison was deployed to assist in disaster relief and cleaning up in the aftermath of

Typhoon Hato Typhoon Hato, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Isang, was a strong tropical cyclone that struck South China in August 2017. Developing as the thirteenth named storm and the fourth typhoon of the Pacific typhoon season, Hato form ...

in August 2017, the first time for domestic affairs in Macau history. About 1,000 troops were called in to help remove debris and clear roads.

Organization

The PLA Macao Garrison is under the command and control of the Central Military Commission and under the operational supervision of the

Southern Theater Command The Southern Theater Command () is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 2016. Its predecessor was the Guangzhou Military Region. Its jurisdiction includes Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Yunnan, H ...

, and its budget is administered by the central government in Beijing. A PLA major general heads the Macao Garrison. ; Garrison Commanders * Maj. General

Liu Yuejun Liu Yuejun (; born September 1954) is a general ('' shangjiang'') of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China who served as commander of the Eastern Theater Command from 2016 to 2019. Biography Liu traces his ancestry to Rongcheng, Shandong, ...

1999–2002 * Maj. General Liu Lianhua 2002–2008 * Maj. General Wang Yuren 2008–2010 * Maj. General Zhu Qingsheng 2010–2014 * Maj. General Wang Wen 2014–2018 * Maj. General Liao Zhengrong 2018 * Maj. General Xu Liangcai 2019–present ; Political Commissars * Maj. General He Xianshu 1999–2001 * Maj. General Liu Liangkai 2001–2003 * Maj. General Yang Zhongmin 2003–2006 * Maj. General Li Wenchao 2006–2007 * Maj. General Zhao Cunsheng 2007–2008 * Maj. General Xu Jinlin 2008–2013 * Maj. General Ma Biqiang 2013–2014 * Maj. General Zhang Zhimeng 2014–2017 * Maj. General Zhou Wugang 2017–present

Troops

* 1

motorized infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ca ...

* 1 armoured company

Equipment

Bases

The garrison was temporarily stationed at the 11 storey Edificação Long Cheng/Long Cheng Mansion. It is now stationed on

Taipa Taipa ( zh, t=氹仔, ; pt, Taipa, ) was a former island in Macau, presently united with the island of Coloane by reclaimed land known as Cotai. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil parish Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do ...

located amongst the new casinos in

Cotai Cotai (; pt, Zona do Aterro de Cotai) is a piece of newly reclaimed land on top of Seac Pai Bay between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau, that has made two independent islands become one island, since 2005. The word (a portmanteau of Coloan ...

(Estrada da Baía de Nossa Sra. da Esperança across from Hotel Venetian and Galaxy Macau). There are more troops at the barracks in

(Zhengling).

Notes

References

External links

* {{Military of Asia People's Liberation Army Ground Force Military in Macau Southern Theater Command 1999 establishments in Macau Military units and formations established in 1999