People's Liberation Army Marine Corps
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The People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps (PLANMC), MUCD Unit 91811, also known as the People's Liberation Army Marine Corps (PLAMC), is the maritime land force of the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
(PLA) and one of five major branches of the
People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...
(PLAN), responsible for
amphibious warfare Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conduc ...
, expeditionary operations and rapid responses. It currently consists of six
combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armoured warfare, armour in an Urban warfare, urban environment in ...
brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...
s; the Special Operations Brigade; and an
aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...
brigade, for a total of 40,000 personnel. Before 2017 the PLANMC consisted of just two brigades in the
South Sea Fleet The Southern Theater Command Navy (STCN), or the South Sea Fleet (SSF) until 2018, is a formation of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the naval component of the Southern Theater Command. History In December 1949, the Fourth Fi ...
. That year it was given the status of a branch headquarters within the People's Liberation Army Navy and began expansion.


History

The present PLANMC was originally established in April 1953 to conduct amphibious operations against islands held by the
Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. By the end of the Korean War, the PLANMC numbered 110,000 personnel organized in eight divisions. However, the organization was disbanded in October 1957 when the leadership of China abandoned any plans to seize the
island of Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...
. Following the disbanding of the Marine Corps, the PLAN did maintain a naval infantry force, which consisted of several infantry and amphibious tank
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
s. In 1979 the Central Military Commission (CMC) re-established the Marine Corps and organized it under the PLAN. On 5 May 1980, the 1st Marine Brigade was activated on
Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...
. The PLANMC was expanded in the 1990s because of the growing tensions between China and Taiwan. The 1st Marine Brigade was reinforced and rearmed. In July 1998, the 164th Motorized Infantry Division of the PLA Ground Force's (PLAGF) 41st Group Army had been transferred to the PLAN
South Sea Fleet The Southern Theater Command Navy (STCN), or the South Sea Fleet (SSF) until 2018, is a formation of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the naval component of the Southern Theater Command. History In December 1949, the Fourth Fi ...
and became the 164th Marine Brigade, with its homebase in
Zhanjiang Zhanjiang; Leizhou Min: ''Tchiàm-kōng''; previously Tsamkong or Guangzhouwan, then romanized in English as Kwangchowan or Kwangchow Wan. is a port city on the southwestern panhandle of Guangdong province in South China. The prefecture- ...
, Guangdong Province. In February 2017, it was reported that the 77th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the 26th Group Army was transferred to the PLAN. The PLANMC participated in multiple international exercises, including participation in RIMPAC, and engaged with
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
in mutual training and friendly cultural exchanges during the Bush and Obama administrations as part of its "tranquility and good order" policy according to its navy chief. However, with the Trump administration the PLAN and PLANMC were dis-invited from the 2018 Rim of the Pacific and the US Marines are trained to fight against the PLANMC.


Organization

The PLANMC is subordinate to Navy Headquarters, the Joint Staff Department and the CMC. Eighteen thousand marines are under the
Southern Theater Command The Southern Theater Command () is one of the Theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 2016. Its predecessor was the Guangzhou Military Region. Its jurisdicti ...
, with 6,000 being under Eastern Theater Command and 12,000 being under
Northern Theater Command The Northern Theater Command () is one of the five Theater command (China), theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 2016. Its predecessor is the Shenyang Military Region, Jinan Military Region and Beijing Militar ...
. These brigades possess combined arms units, including
armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...
,
artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
,
missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...
,
air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
, and
logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...
. The Seven brigades are as follows: * and (ex-164th) Marine Brigades – both based in
Zhanjiang Zhanjiang; Leizhou Min: ''Tchiàm-kōng''; previously Tsamkong or Guangzhouwan, then romanized in English as Kwangchowan or Kwangchow Wan. is a port city on the southwestern panhandle of Guangdong province in South China. The prefecture- ...
* based in Jinjiang * based in
Jieyang Jieyang ( zh, s=揭阳, p=Jiēyáng, t=揭陽; Chaozhou dialect: gig4 iên5; Jieyang dialect: gêg4 ion5) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong Province (Yuedong), People's Republic of China, part of the Chaoshan region whose peopl ...
* based in Laoshan * based in Haiyang; * Special Operations Brigade (Sometimes numbered as the 7th) based in
Sanya Sanya; Chinese postal romanization, also spelled Samah is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan, Hainan Province in Southeast China, South China. According to the Sixth National Populati ...
. There is additionally a marine corps aviation unit known as the stationed in
Mingguang Mingguang (), formerly Jiashan County (), is a county-level city in the northeast of Anhui Province, China, bordering Jiangsu province to the northeast and east. It is under the administration of Chuzhou city. Geography Mingguang City is on the ...
,
Chuzhou Chuzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Anhui Provinces of China, Province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south and southwest, Huainan to the west, Bengbu to the northwest, and the province of Jiangsu to the ...
,
Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...
. It was founded in 2017. Each Marine Brigade is organized into the following elements: * 1 × Brigade HQ and Service Company * 3 x Marine Combined Arms Battalions (1 x Heavy with ZTD-05 Amphibious Tank, 1 × Medium with ZBD-05 Amphibious IFV and 1 × Light with VP4 ATV ) * 1 x Air Assault Battalion * 1 x Marine Artillery Battalion * 1 × Air Defense Battalion * Marine Reconnaissance Battalion * Combat Support Battalion * Service Support Battalion The PLA has additional amphibious assault capabilities in the PLAGF amphibious combined-arms brigades.


Equipment

; Personnel equipment * Type 95 Assault Rifle * Type 95B Carbine * QBB-95 Squad Automatic Weapon * QBU-88 Designated Marksman Rifle * QCW-05 Submachine Gun *
QSZ-92 The QSZ-92, sometimes known as the Type 92 (), is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Norinco. History The decision to develop a new pistol was made in 1987 to replace the Type 54 pistol, Type 54/64/77. Research and development started in 1992. ...
Pistol * QBS-06 underwater rifle * QLZ-87 grenade launcher * QBU-10 sniper rifle * QLU-11 grenade launcher/sniper *
PF-89 The PF-89 or Type 89 is a portable, disposable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled rocket launcher. Developed by Norinco for the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the PF-89 was designed to replace the obsolete Type 69 RPG, p ...
rocket launcher * PF-97 rocket launcher *
DZJ-08 The DZJ-08 () is a portable, disposable, unguided, Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-launched, multipurpose recoilless weapon. The weapon is designed as a multi-role assault weapon aiming to provide anti-armor, anti-fortification, and anti-personne ...
rocket launcher ; Armor *
Type 15 tank The Type 15 (, also designated ZTQ-15), codenamed the Black Panther (), is a Chinese List of main battle tanks by generation, third generation light tank family operated by the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, People's Liberation Army Navy ...
* ZTL-11 Amphibious Assault Gun * ZBL-08 Amphibious IFV * ZSL-10 Amphibious APC * ZTD-05 Amphibious Assault Gun * ZBD-05 Amphibious IFV * ZSD-05 Amphibious APC * WZ551 Wheeled APC ; Aircraft * Z-9WA attack helicopter * Z-9C utility helicopter * Z-18 transport helicopter ; Artillery and ammunition * PLZ-07B self-propelled howitzer * PLL-09 self-propelled howitzer * Type 89 self-propelled howitzer * HJ-8 Anti-tank missile *
HJ-73 The 9M14 Malyutka (; "Little one", NATO reporting name: AT-3 Sagger) is a manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) wire-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system developed in the Soviet Union. It was the first man-portable anti-tank guided mi ...
Anti-tank missile Chinese marines use the QBZ-95 as their main armament, though this is set to change as the PLA is set to replace the QBZ-95 with the QBZ-191 as its standard service rifle. The Type 07 Oceanic Camouflage used by the marines is likewise scheduled to be replaced by the Xingkong camouflage pattern. The marines also make use of GPS and night vision systems to enhance their fighting capabilities. For air defense, Chinese marines employ a mix of automatic and manually operated anti-aircraft artillery systems, as well as short range surface-to-air missiles. The marines have been seen operating the new Type 95 self-propelled air defense platform on an amphibious hull similar to the Type 77 APC. This platform is armed with four 25mm cannon with a short ranged SAM combination to achieve effective killing capabilities against low flying targets at short ranges. The Type 89 self-propelled 122mm gun is the first SP artillery system in service with the marines since 1999. This adds additional accurate firepower to the PLAMC.


See also

*
Republic of China Marine Corps , image = File:Republic of China Marine Corp (ROCMC) Logo.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Emblem of the Republic of China Marine Corps with the map of ROC claimed lands of m ...
(part of the Republic of China Navy) * People's Liberation Army Airborne Corps (part of the
People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...
) * People's Liberation Army Navy Coastal Defense Force * People's Liberation Army special operations forces


References

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China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
Military units and formations established in 1953 Military units and formations disestablished in 1957 Military units and formations established in 1979