Hong Kong, February 17 (ANI): The US Marine Corps (USMC) is America's go-to expeditionary force, a military service designed to react quickly to crises around the world. Likewise, China has a similar force in the shape of the People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps.

The PLANMC, estimated to have approximately 30,000 marines, has six amphibious combined-arms brigades plus two other maneuver brigades: a naval shipborne aviation brigade and special operations brigade. This makes it the second-largest marine corps in the world.

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Late last year, the US Naval War College published the translation of an informative article written by Rear Admiral Zhu Chuansheng, Commander of the PLANMC, that shed light on the corps' aims and purposes. The article - entitled "Marine Corps Combat Capabilities to Win in High-End Maritime Warfare - originally appeared in January 2025's edition of the internal PLA journal Military Art.

As the world reels from one crisis after another, formations like the USMC and PLANMC are more relevant than ever. As Zhu wrote: "At present, and for a period into the future, numerous security concerns and threats will persist along China's periphery, in the far seas and overseas. China's national security threats are primarily at sea, the focal point of military struggle is at sea, and the center of gravity for the expansion of China's national interest is also at sea."

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As China's elite amphibious combat force, the PLANMC "must closely monitor maritime and overseas security developments, accurately assess security threats, coordinate maritime and overseas operations, clearly identify military requirements, accelerate transformation and development, and continuously enhance combat capabilities," he urged.

Analysing Zhu's report, Professor Andrew Erickson, Professor of Strategy at the US Naval War College, assessed, "The article offers a rare combination of candid analysis and authoritative perspective, shedding light on aspects of the PLAN Marine Corps that are seldom discussed with such clarity." Erickson said the article represents Zhu's "roadmap" for the Chinese marine corps' transformation.

Zhu's paper lists four tasks for China's premier amphibious force. One is acting as an initial assault force, leveraging its combined-arms advantages. The report stated, "It must play a pivotal role in independently conducting operations, breaching frontline enemy defences, while relying on the broader naval warfare infrastructure to achieve strategic surprise, conduct multidimensional assaults, execute elite force raids, seize and control critical points and complete other missions, and rupture enemy lines to penetrate and exploit enemy centers of gravity."

Conquering Taiwan is certainly one mission for which the PLANMC is training. Indeed, the Pentagon's latest report on PLA capabilities, issued last December, stated, "Modernization and refinements to amphibious assault capabilities continues to indicate that a Taiwan invasion scenario remains a top consideration for the PLA." Restructuring of the PLANMC into a multi-domain force commenced in 2017 and, to illustrate the PLANMC's quest to boost its combined-arms credentials, it had inducted ZTQ-15 light tanks by 2021. Previously, the corps fielded armored vehicles like the ZBL-09/ZTL-11 8x8 family and ZBD-05/ZTD-05 tracked amphibious assault vehicles. However, the introduction of 36-tonne light tanks shows how Chinese marines are bulking up and eyeing a broader range of missions. Somewhat ironically, while the USMC got rid of its heavy M1A1 Abrams tanks in order to better counter China, the latter started receiving tanks!

A second PLANMC mission is seizing and controlling islands and reefs. Chinese marines must be ready to perform integrated amphibious operations, all-domain control and precision maritime strikes. This may mean retaking or capturing enemy-held islands/reefs to establish strongpoints bristling with air defenses and sea control fires, or deterring an adversary from approaching said islands.

This is important, for China has exorbitantly and illegally claimed sovereign territory in the South China Sea and elsewhere in places like the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands near Japan. Of course, Beijing loudly trumpets self-entitled claims over the democratic nation of Taiwan too.

As a third mission, Zhu said the marine corps is a unique force for maritime deterrence. Thus, it safeguards maritime chokepoints, executes strikes to break an enemy's blockade of straits, conducts vessel boarding and infiltrates close to enemy bases to guide precision strikes or conduct special operations.

Finally, Zhu mentioned the suitability of the PLANMC for overseas operations. "As an overseas expeditionary force operating from the sea to the land, the marine corps can leverage traditional friendly nations as strongpoints, supplemented by the overseas support bases of Chinese-invested enterprises, using overseas garrisons and shipborne prepositioning to create an integrated land-sea force disposition, sustain forward presence, and perform missions such as defense of critical nodes, escort operations and evacuations of Chinese nationals, armed rescue operations and limited punitive actions."

China already has a PLANMC detachment permanently garrisoned in Djibouti, and it recently won access to a naval base in Cambodia. China may increasingly rely on a network of civilian ports too, many built or operated by Chinese companies, to perform resupply. In addition to the two aforementioned countries, the Pentagon claimed, "China has likely also considered basing in Angola, Bangladesh, Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu."

At this point, Zhu in his report discussed some of the high-end warfighting skills that the PLANMC needs to focus on. First up, Zhu mentioned the importance of innovation in a world where technologies such as artificial intelligence are rapidly advancing. "Maritime warfare that leverages advanced weapons systems and new domain/new-quality forces and focuses on autonomous and intelligent systems operating in a highly distributed manner throughout the broad maritime frontier is emerging as a critical operational style."

In this pursuit, China is carefully observing peers like the USMC, including their operational concepts, technologies and combined-warfare methods. In fact, the PLANMC is seeking to leapfrog potential adversaries rather than just emulate them. Next, Zhu described the need for speed and agile response in order to strike enemies.

This entails detecting targets, command and control, decision-making and streamlining kill chains. Of course, these are the very things the USMC is also grappling with.

Tellingly, Zhu noted that "we will rapidly seize and control target areas, denying the enemy time for reinforcements and denying extra-regional powers time to intervene".

This is a classic reference to Taiwan, because China would seek to capture the island before the US war machine can build momentum.

Thirdly, the PLANMC is emphasizing the need to control and suppress a multi- domain enemy. "The marine corps' primary areas of operations are in highly politically sensitive maritime and overseas [theaters]. It therefore must even more firmly conceptualize multi-domain precision operations, optimizing the reconnaissance-control-strike-assess operational kill chain, supported by cyber capabilities." This means expertly wielding unmanned systems, special forces, strike assets and airborne units to paralyze adversaries.

Zhu next discusses the need to attrite the enemy, where the marine corps will contribute to China's national power so it can outlast and overwhelm adversaries. This means, for instance, "It must replace personnel attrition with materiel attrition, employ low-cost means to degrade high-value targets, increase the proportion of unmanned and intelligent combat systems, and employ tactics such as using unmanned systems against manned capabilities, and leveraging fires against enemy operational potential."

At this point, Zhu went on to discuss how to strengthen the PLANMC's cross-functional capabilities to create a truly elite force. "We must adhere to combat-driven development, thoroughly deconstruct and understand future high-end maritime combat requirements, determine core command capabilities, and extensively conduct realistic mission- and capability-based combat training," he insisted.

He listed specific capabilities that need to be developed. These include surveillance, reconnaissance and remote-sensing assets that gather information near and far, as well as interconnected command and control. Also needed are agile strike assets backed by kill chains, including unmanned platforms.

As an amphibious force, Zhu urged the PLA to field new air, land and sea platforms for rapid, multi-dimensional amphibious assault. He specifically mentioned obstacle clearance, helicopters, hovercraft, amphibious transports, unmanned platforms and decoy drones. He encouraged comprehensive development of aviation, naval, special operations and information systems tailored to his amphibious forces.

Platforms like Y-20 transport and refueling aircraft, as well as Type 075 landing helicopter dock ships - four of which currently exist - are improving the marine corps' ability to project force. This ability will improve further when the first Type 076 vessel, Sichuan, is commissioned later this year. Displacing more than 40,000 tonnes, Sichuan blends the relative strengths of both an amphibious warship and an aircraft carrier, the first ship in the world to do so.

Zhu listed self-sustainment as being important too, such as unmanned combat support assets, unmanned boats, aircraft, pontoon bridges and roll-on/roll-off vessels. In fact, China has already fielded landing barges that allow commercial roll-on/roll-off vessels to berth at sea and disgorge vehicles and equipment that can rapidly drive ashore. These unique pieces of landing equipment demonstrate the innovative solutions China is coming up with to improve its amphibious capacity.

Also needed are persistent cyberwarfare and electronic warfare capabilities, Zhu urged, such as electromagnetic suppression of adversaries, jamming, deception, anti-radiation hardening and cyberattacks.

Another topic Zhu addresses is how to accelerate transformative development of China's marine corps. He makes four points here. The first is strengthening and optimizing top-echelon planning design, something achievable by copying USMC practices. This should include establishing sufficient authorities and a dedicated agency to conduct relevant research and development.

Zhu mentioned the USMC's "Force Design 2030" plan as a model for accelerating new Chinese equipment and optimizing its own force structure. "Currently, our marine corps approaches force development and employment by centering on amphibious and light mechanized infantry formations supplemented by airborne capabilities to conduct multidimensional projection operations and traditional flat landing operations. However, this approach is not very compatible with the operational concepts of amphibious assault ship task force operations."

Human resources also come into it. "Human talent is our most important resource," he remarked, emphasizing the need for structured talent development - something currently a major weakness in the PLANMC - with methods such as establishing a specialized academy for amphibious warfare, plus a robust, multi-tiered approach to training.

He drew inspiration from the world's largest marine corps, the USMC, and advocated a strengthened institutional framework to enhance the PLANMC's operational effectiveness and strategic foresight. He said the corps needs to sharpen its maritime foundation, strengthen ground combat capabilities and vigorously advance amphibious integration. "Specifically, we must innovate the training model for amphibious task forces and integrate marine corps and amphibious surface vessel personnel in joint training and living environments."

The USMC routinely deploys at sea aboard US Navy amphibious warfare ships, particularly in Marine Expeditionary Units, but Zhu recognized the PLANMC falls short in this regard. "...We need to research and establish marine corps underway force organization as well as deployment and training rotation frameworks, and to promote operating base-centered deployment of amphibious forces, routinely forward deploy marine corps units to conduct long-range prepositioning as part of amphibious task forces, and drive fleet integration to generate effective amphibious combat systems."

The PLANMC is improving, however. The Pentagon assessed, "The PLA conducts training at increasingly realistic, large-scale sites that simulate environments on Taiwan where the PLA would be expected to operate."

Challenges remain, nonetheless. A report published by the National Defense University in Washington DC several years ago, entitled "The PLA Beyond Borders - Chinese Military Operations in Regional and Global Context", listed four challenges for China's developing expeditionary stance. One is personnel and training, with only a small percentage having overseas experience, and even fewer having worked with multinational forces in hostile environments. Another is command and control of forces overseas, with distance affecting communications and decision-making. Third is logistics and basing, with the PLA hampered by insufficient airlift/sealift capacity.

A final challenge is balancing China's competing requirements, as far-flung theaters compete with Beijing's focus on Taiwan.

Zhu indicated the structure and capabilities of the PLANMC are "critical propositions and the constant concerns of Chairman Xi Jinping". Meanwhile, there is growing recognition that, if things get tough, then China should "send in the marines" just as the USA does. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)