South Sea Fleet
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The Southern Theater Command Navy (), or the South Sea Fleet (SSF; ) is one of the three fleets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, operating in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
under 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 ...
. It is headquartered in
Zhanjiang Zhanjiang (), historically spelled Tsamkong, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Haikou city to the south. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,981,236 (6,994,832 ...
,
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
Province. Initially, the fleet's strength consisted mostly of former
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
ships and personnel, which either defected or were captured by the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
. One of three fleets of the People's Liberation Army Navy, the SSF's duties were to protect the city of Guangzhou and the Pearl River regions, and support the PLA in capturing islands that were still in the hands of the Kuomintang forces. The fleet's development has been slow, because most of China's shipbuilding industry is located on the northern or eastern coasts. In the 1970s the fleet underwent a major buildup, due to conflict in the
Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoang Sa Archipelago ( vi, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa, lit=Yellow Sand Archipelago), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. The archipelago includes about 130 small coral ...
and other reefs in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
. In 1974, the SSF took the Paracel Islands from
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, which resulted in the sinking of one South Vietnamese
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
while damaging another. The latest incident was in 1988, when a Chinese naval task force engaged
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
ese naval forces, sinking one Vietnamese warship and damaging another. Most of the fleet's surface ships are located at
Zhanjiang Zhanjiang (), historically spelled Tsamkong, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Haikou city to the south. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,981,236 (6,994,832 ...
naval base, while all of the fleet's submarines are at
Yulin Naval Base Yulin Naval Base () is the traditional base of the People's Liberation Army Navy, located in the eastern suburb of Sanya, Hainan Province, China, next to Yulin Port. Further east on Yalong Bay is the new Longpo Naval Base, formerly called "Yulin-E ...
, on
Hainan Island Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly ...
. The SSF has many other bases included Guangzhou, Haikou, Shantou, Mawei, and Beihai, while naval air force bases are at Lingshui, Haikou, Sanya, Zhanjiang, and Guiping. The fleet's area of operations is divided into six zones.


Structure


Functional Departments

The South Sea Fleet consists of the following departments: * General Staff Department - Fleet Headquarters Staff. * Political Work Department - Responsible for Communist Party oversight over the fleet. * Discipline Inspection Committee - Responsible for maintaining discipline in the fleet. * Equipment Department * Logistics Department


Naval Detachments

South Sea Fleet further divides into the following ship detachments: * 2nd Destroyer Detachment (驱逐舰第二支队) * 9th Destroyer Detachment (驱逐舰第九支队) * 17th Frigate Detachment (护卫舰第十七支队) * 18th Frigate Detachment (护卫舰第十八支队) * 19th Frigate Detachment (护卫舰第十九支队) * 32nd Submarine Detachment (潜艇第三十二支队) * 52nd Submarine Detachment (潜艇第五十二支队) * 6th Landing Ship Detachment (登陆舰第六支队) * 3rd Combat Support Ship Detachment (作战支援舰第三支队) * Danger and Lifesaver Detachment (某防险救生支队)


Major Naval Bases in the Fleet

The fleet headquarters was, at first, at
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, but was later relocated to
Zhanjiang Zhanjiang (), historically spelled Tsamkong, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Haikou city to the south. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,981,236 (6,994,832 ...
. *
Yulin Naval Base Yulin Naval Base () is the traditional base of the People's Liberation Army Navy, located in the eastern suburb of Sanya, Hainan Province, China, next to Yulin Port. Further east on Yalong Bay is the new Longpo Naval Base, formerly called "Yulin-E ...
,
Hainan Island Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly ...
*
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
*
Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the ...
* Shantou *
Mawei Mawei (; Foochow Romanized: Mā-muōi) is one of 6 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province, China. The district spans an area of 319.66 square kilometers, of which, 275.66 square kilometers is la ...
* Beihai *
Stonecutters Island Stonecutters Island or Ngong Shuen Chau is a former island in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. Following land reclamation, it is now attached to the Kowloon Peninsula. Fauna The island once boasted at least three mating pairs of sulphur-crested co ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
-
People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison The People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison is a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), responsible for defence duties in the Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, Special Administrative Region (SAR) since the sove ...
Naval air force bases: * Lingshui *
Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the ...
*
Sanya Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...
*
Zhanjiang Zhanjiang (), historically spelled Tsamkong, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Haikou city to the south. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,981,236 (6,994,832 ...
*
Guiping Guiping () is a county-level city in eastern Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Guigang City, located at the confluence of the Qian River, Qian and Yu River (China), Yu rivers, which are the Xi River's primary north and south tri ...


Ships in the fleet

The flagship of the fleet is the ''
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
'' (17), a
Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier The ''Kuznetsov''-class aircraft carrying cruiser (Russian: Авиано́сцы ти́па «Кузнецо́в» ''Avianо́stsii Tipa "Kuznetsо́v"''), Soviet designation Project 1143.5, is a class of aircraft carriers operated by the Russ ...
.
Aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
* 1 Kuznetsov-class: ** ''
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
'' (17)
Landing helicopter dock A landing helicopter dock (LHD) is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship which is capable of operating helicopters and has a well deck. The United States Navy (USN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) use the term as a hull classification symbo ...
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Type 075 The Type 075 landing helicopter dock ( NATO reporting name: Yushen-class landing helicopter assault) is a class of Chinese amphibious assault ships built by Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). It has a fu ...
** ''
Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
'' (31)
Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s: * 1
Type 055 destroyer The Type 055 destroyer (NATO/ OSD Renhai-class cruiser) is a class of stealth guided-missile destroyers ( guided-missile cruisers per NATO/OSD standard) being constructed for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. It is a multi-mission desi ...
** ''Dalian'' (105) * 7 Type 052D/Kunming/Luyang III-class: ** ''
Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
'' (172) ** ''
Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...
'' (173) ** ''
Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
'' (174) ** ''
Yinchuan Yinchuan (, ; ) is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 Chinese census, and its buil ...
'' (175) ** ''Hohhot'' (161) ** ''Nanning'' (162) * 2 Type 052C/Lanzhou/Luyang II-class: ** ''Lanzhou'' (170) ** ''Haikou'' (171) * 2 Type 052B/Guangzhou/Luyang-class: ** ''Guangzhou'' (168) ** ''Wuhan'' (169) * 1 Type 051B/Luhai-class: ** ''
Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
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Frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
s: * 8 Jiangkai-class II: ** ''
Huangshan Huangshan (),Bernstein, pp. 125–127. literally meaning the Yellow Mountain(s), is a mountain range in southern Anhui Province in eastern China. It was originally called “Yishan”, and it was renamed because of a legend that Emperor Xuan ...
'' (570) ** ''
Hengyang Hengyang (; ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, whom 1,290,715 ...
'' (568) ** ''
Yuncheng Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...
'' (571) ** '' Yulin'' (569) ** ''
Hengshui Hengshui () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shandong to the southeast. At the 2010 census its population was 4,340,373 inhabitants whom 522,147 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') are ...
'' (572) ** ''
Liuzhou Liuzhou (; , IPA Pronunciation:) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of 4 urban ...
'' (573) ** ''
Sanya Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...
'' (574) ** ''
Yueyang Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and Yangtze in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. Yueyang has an administrative area of a ...
'' (575) * 3 Jiangwei II-class: ** ''Yichang'' (564) ** ''Huaihua'' (566) ** ''Xiangyang'' (567) * 6 Jianghu V-class: ** ''Beihai'' (558) ** ''Kangding'' (559) ** ''Dongguan'' (560) ** ''Shantou'' (561) ** ''Jiangmen'' (562) ** ''Foshan'' (563)
Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
s: * 12 Jiangdao-class: ** ''Meizhou'' (584) ** ''Baise'' (585) ** ''Jieyang'' (587) ** ''Qingyuan'' (589) ** ''Luzhou'' (592) ** ''Zhuzhou'' (594) ** ''Chaozhou'' (595) ** ''Suqian'' (504) ** ''Jingmen'' (506) ** ''Tongren'' (507) ** ''Qujing'' (508) ** ''Liupanshui'' (514) Diesel-Electric submarines: * 8 Ming-class
Landing ship An amphibious warfare ship (or amphib) is an amphibious vehicle warship employed to land and support ground forces, such as marines, on enemy territory during an amphibious assault. Specialized shipping can be divided into two types, most crud ...
s: * 3 Yuzhao-class LPD: ** '' Kunlun Shan'' (998) ** '' Jinggang Shan'' (999) ** '' Changbai Shan'' (989) * 6 Yuting III-class LST: ** ''Huading Shan'' (992) ** ''Luoxiao Shan'' (993) ** ''Daiyun Shan'' (994) ** ''Wanyang Shan'' (995) ** ''Laotie Shan'' (996) ** ''Lühua Shan'' (997) * 1 Yuting II-class LST: ** ''Emei Shan'' (992) * 3 Yuting-class LST: ** ''Dongting Shan'' (931) ** ''Helan Shan'' (932) ** ''Liupan Shan'' (933) * 4 Yudao-Class
LSM In molecular biology, LSm proteins are a family of RNA-binding proteins found in virtually every cellular organism. LSm is a contraction of 'like Sm', because the first identified members of the LSm protein family were the Sm proteins. LSm pr ...
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Replenishment ship A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. Th ...
s: *1 Fusu-class ** ''Qinghaihu'' (885) *3 Fuchi-class ** '' Weishanhu'' (887) ** ''
Honghu Honghu () is a county-level city in the municipal region of Jingzhou, in the south of Hubei province. The city lies on the northwest (left) bank of the Yangtze River, across from Hunan Province and Xianning, Hubei. It is named after the adjacent ...
'' (963) ** '' Luomahu'' (964) *5 Dayun-class ** ''Jingpohu'' (884) ** ''Dongtinghu'' (883) ** ''Fuxianhu'' (888) ** ''Junshanhu'' (961) ** ''Luguhu'' (962)
Auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxil ...
s: * 6 Qiongsha-class troop transport ships: ** ''NY830'' ** ''NY831'' ** ''NY832'' ** ''NY833'' ** ''NY834'' ** ''NY835'' * 1 hospital ship


See also

* People's Liberation Army Navy **
North Sea Fleet The Northern Theater Command Navy (), or the North Sea Fleet (NSF; ) is one of the three fleets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, under the Northern Theater Command. In September 1950 the Qingdao Army Base was redesignated as a naval ...
**
East Sea Fleet The Eastern Theater Command Navy (), or East Sea Fleet (ESF; ), is one of the three fleets of the People's Liberation Army Navy, operating in the East China Sea under the Eastern Theater Command. It was the first naval force formed by the Peop ...
*
Nanyang Fleet The Nanyang Fleet () was one of the four modernised Chinese naval fleets in the late Qing Dynasty. Established in the 1870s, the fleet suffered losses in the Sino-French War, escaped intact in the Sino-Japanese War, and was formally abolished i ...
(Southern Seas Fleet),
Fujian Fleet The Fujian Fleet ( or ) founded in 1678 as the Fujian Marine Fleet was one of China's four regional fleets during the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The fleet was almost annihilated on 23 August 1884 by Admiral Amédée Courbet's ...
and
Guangdong Fleet The Guangdong Fleet (Chinese: 廣東水師) was the smallest of China's four regional fleets during the second half of the nineteenth century. The fleet played virtually no part in the Sino-French War (August 1884–April 1885), but several of it ...
were the predecessor fleets of the Qing navy


References


External links

* http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/south-sea.htm {{People's Liberation Army Fleets of the People's Liberation Army Navy South China Sea Southern Theater Command Guangzhou Military Region Military units and formations established in 1949 1949 establishments in China