People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps
marine force of the People's Republic of China
The People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps (PLANMC) is the maritime land force of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and one of five major branches of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), responsible for amphibious warfare, expeditionary operations and rapid responses. In 2026, the corps had an estimated 100,000 personnel.
History
The present PLANMC was originally established in April 1953 to conduct amphibious operations against islands held by the Republic of China (Taiwan). 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. In 1979 the Central Military Commission (CMC) re-established the Marine Corps and organized it under the PLAN.
Prior to 2017 when reforms to the corps began, the PLANMC consisted of two brigades with around 12,000 personnel.
The PLANMC participated in multiple international exercises, including participation in RIMPAC, and engaged with United States Marine Corps 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
PLANMC currently has 8 brigades: 6 maneuver brigades, 1 aviation brigade and 1 commando brigade.
1st Marine Brigade and 2nd Marine Brigade, both based in Zhanjiang
3rd Marine Brigade based in Jinjiang
4th Marine Brigade based in Jieyang
5th Marine Brigade based in Qingdao
6th Marine Brigade Qingdao and Yantai
Naval Shipborne Aviation Brigade based in Zhucheng
Special Operations Brigade based in Sanya
Each Marine Brigade is organized into the following elements:
Amphibious mechanized infantry 1st battalion
Amphibious mechanized infantry 2nd battalion
Light mechanized infantry 3rd battalion
Air assault infantry battalion
Reconnaissance battalion
Artillery battalion
Air defense battalion
Operational support battalion
Service support battalion
The PLA has additional amphibious assault capabilities in the PLAGF amphibious combined-arms brigades.
The public source identifies “People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps” as marine force of the People's Republic of China. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around People's, Liberation and Army.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1061382. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2026, 1953, 1957 and 1979.
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