Southern Theater Command Navy | |
---|---|
Active | 1955–present |
Country | China |
Allegiance | Chinese Communist Party |
Branch | People's Liberation Army Navy |
Type | Naval fleet |
Part of | Southern Theater Command |
Garrison/HQ | Zhanjiang, China |
Engagements | Battle of the Paracel Islands |
Commanders | |
Commander | Admiral Ju Xinchun |
Political Commissar | Admiral Yang Zhiliang |
The Southern Theater Command Navy (STCN), or the South Sea Fleet (SSF) until 2018, [1] is a formation of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the naval component of the Southern Theater Command. [2]
In December 1949, the Fourth Field Army transferred personnel from the 15th Army to create the Guangdong Military Region Riverine Defense Command. [3] The Riverine Defense Command commanded the Wanshan Archipelago Campaign in May to August 1950 [4] and was the "nucleus" of the South Central China Military Region Navy created by the Fourth Field Army in December 1950. The military region's navy became the PLAN's South Sea Fleet in 1955. [5]
The SSF won the Battle of the Paracel Islands against South Vietnam in 1974. [6] [7] China's first anti-piracy patrol to Somalia deployed from the SSF in December 2008. [8]
STCN headquarters is at Zhanjiang, with bases in Sanya and Guangzhou. [9] The bases at Sanya include Yulin Naval Base and Longpo Naval Base, the latter for submarines. [10] It controls coastal defenses west from to Dongshan County and in the South China Sea. [9]
In 2016, subunits included:
The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army, the standing armed force of the People's Republic of China. As of 2024, it is the second-largest navy in the world in terms of total displacement, and the largest navy per number of ships in active service.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the principal military force of the People's Republic of China. The PLA consists of four services — Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force — and four arms — Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force, Information Support Force, and Joint Logistics Support Force. It is led by the Central Military Commission (CMC) with its chairman as commander-in-chief.
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The Battle of the Paracel Islands was a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam in the Paracel Islands on January 19, 1974. The battle was an attempt by the South Vietnamese navy to expel the Chinese navy from the vicinity. The confrontation took place towards the end of the Vietnam War.
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