In this report, we shed light on the People's Liberation Army in China, the largest army in the world, since its founding. We also review the equipment and numbers of its five main units, and the most prominent features that distinguish it from other armies.
After the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island of Taiwan and the large-scale military maneuvers that China launched around the island in response to the visit, attention returned to the People's Liberation Army of China and search engines began to be filled with surfers looking for the army, its equipment, its numbers and the most prominent features that distinguish it.
In fact, the People's Liberation Army has witnessed radical changes in recent years and the addition of advanced and unique equipment and systems, the latest of which was the launch of a huge and completely new aircraft carrier, through which Beijing aims to strengthen its armed forces at a rapid pace and make it more dynamic and developed in preparation for extending its military influence as a dominant international power.
Amidst these massive military reinforcements and maneuvers in which China displays its modern and advanced weapons and forces, many Western analysts and observers now see that a profound shift in the global balance of military power is underway in the eastern part of the world.
foundation
The People's Liberation Army has its roots in the Nanchang Uprising of the Communists against the Nationalists in 1927. Initially called the Red Army, it grew under the leadership of Mao Zedong and Zhou Di from 5,000 soldiers in 1929 to 200,000 in 1933.
In the aftermath of the massacre of the Communists by Chiang Kai-shek, from which only a small part of this force survived after the withdrawal of the Nationalists, the Red Army rebuilt its strength, and later a large part of it fought with the Nationalists against the Japanese in northern China.
After the end of World War II, the Communist Red Army, renamed the People's Liberation Army, defeated the Nationalists, enabling the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Leadership
The law of the People's Republic of China explicitly states that the leadership of the Communist Party of China through the Central Military Commission headed by the country's President Xi Jinping leads the Chinese armed forces. This means that the PLA is obligated to follow the principle of absolute civilian control of the CPC over the military under the "Party Leads the Gun" doctrine.
In this sense, the People's Liberation Army is not a national army of the traditional nation-state type, but a political army or an armed branch of the Chinese Communist Party itself, because its loyalty is only to the Party and not to the state or any constitution.
The largest army in the world
With a population of two million and 35 thousand soldiers and a reserve army of 510 thousand, the Chinese People's Army is the largest in the world in terms of numbers, and the third in the world in terms of strength, according to the Global Fire Power website .
While China's defense budget for the current year 2022 amounted to nearly $230 billion, an increase of 7.1% over last year, and it is the second largest defense budget in the world after the United States, according to a report published by Reuters last March.
5 main units
The Chinese army consists of five main units:
Ground Forces: The PLA's ground force is estimated to consist of 975,000 soldiers, roughly half of the PLA's total workforce of about two million soldiers. The ground forces are reinforced during times of crisis with 510,000-strong reserve forces and paramilitary forces.
In recent years, two amphibious motorized divisions have been established in the Nanjing and Guangzhou Military Districts. Also, at least 40% of the PLA's divisions and brigades are now mechanized or armored, double the proportion before 2015.
In exchange for reducing the number of ground forces personnel in recent years, the technological side, the special operations forces, the air force, and electronic warfare units have been strengthened.
Navy: After decades of neglect and marginalization, interest in the PLA Navy has returned since the early 1990s, and since then the Chinese Navy has undergone a rapid modernization, during which the 300,000-strong PLA Navy has been organized into three main fleets: The North Sea Fleet is headquartered in Qingdao, the East Sea Fleet is based in Ningeb, and the South Sea Fleet is headquartered in Zhanjiang.
Each fleet consists of a number of surface ships, submarines, naval air forces, coastal defense and naval units. Today, the Chinese Navy is considered the largest in the world in terms of the number of different parts amounting to 777, including two aircraft carriers and a new one that is expected to enter stock soon, a helicopter carrier, 79 submarines, 41 destroyers, in addition to many other important pieces.
Air Force: The number of soldiers in the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army is 395,000, and they are divided into five commands and 24 divisions. The largest operational unit within the Air Force is the Air Division, which includes 2 to 3 aviation regiments, each comprising 20 to 36 aircraft.
There are also three airborne divisions operated by the People's Liberation Army, as well as projects such as J-XX and XXJ, which are names used by Western intelligence agencies to describe the PRC's programs to develop one or more fifth-generation combat aircraft. The Air Force ranks third in the world with 3,285 aircraft, 1,200 of which are combat aircraft.
Missile Force: The main strategic missile force of the People's Liberation Army, consisting of at least 120,000 personnel, divided into 6 divisions, each operating separately. Its main task is to control China's conventional and nuclear strategic missiles, the total number of which is estimated between 100 and 400 nuclear warheads.
Strategic Support Force: Established at the end of December 2015 as part of the first wave of PLA reforms, as the newest branch of the PLA. The number of its members is estimated at 175,000 people.
When it was established 7 years ago, Beijing did not officially provide details of the mission of this force, but a Chinese Defense Ministry official said it is an integrated mix of all current combat support forces, including but not limited to the aerospace, electronic, and intelligence branches. While it was reported that it also includes operational forces that use high technology such as electronic and space warfare, independently of other branches of the military.
Tags:
YOU KNOW THAT