a fleet of warships; a large force or group usually of moving things

The People's Liberation Army Navy is composed of five branches the Submarine Force, the Surface Force, the Coastal Defense Force, the Marine Corps and the Naval Air Force.

Some exercises and patrols of the PLA NAVY in recent years went as close as the coastline of Japan, Taiwan, and Alaska within their EEZ although the territorial waters have been not been crossed except in cases of innocent passage.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) along with the Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines claims a significant amount of maritime boundary located within the South China Sea. Chinese strategists term the development of the PLAN from a green-water navy into 'a regional blue-water defensive and offensive navy.' As the PLAN expands into a blue-water navy, regular exercises and naval patrols have increased in the South China Sea within the Nine-dash line, the Senkaku Islands/ Diaoyutai in the East China Sea, and the island of Taiwan, which it all claims as its territory. Traditionally subordinated to the PLA Ground Force, PLAN leaders were now able to advocate for renewed attention toward the seas.Ĭhinese military officials have outlined plans to operate in the first and second island chains, and are working towards blue water capability. In the 1990s, following the fall of the Soviet Union and a shift towards a more forward-oriented foreign and security policy, the leaders of the Chinese military were freed from worrying overland border disputes. Until the late 1980s, the PLAN was largely a riverine and littoral force ( brown-water navy). Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet Union provided assistance to the PLAN in the form of naval advisers and export of equipment and technology. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese Civil War and was established on 23 April 1949.

The People's Liberation Army Navy ( PLAN Chinese: 中国人民解放军海军 pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Hǎijūn), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army, and the largest navy per number of ships in the world.

A fleet of warships; a large force or group usually of moving things