China is reportedly looking to dramatically increase the size of its marine corps by 400 percent to boost its global presence.
It wants 100,000 marines standing ready to defend its growing international interests, reports the South China Morning Post, citing sources inside the military. The decision to significantly expand the size of the marine corps is believed to be a part of China’s ongoing efforts to reform, restructure, and modernize the People’s Liberation Army. The aim is to facilitate the transition from a military that relies solely on its size to a fighting force consisting of highly-specialized units.
China currently has 20,000 marines. “The PLA marines will be increased to 100,000, consisting of six brigades in the coming future to fulfill the new missions of our country,” a military source told reporters, adding that the size of the navy is also expected to grow by an estimated 15 percent.
The marines have traditionally been limited to coastal operations due to their smaller numbers and basic equipment; however, a larger force will allow China to deploy its marines farther from its shores to protect interests abroad. Part of the new force could be sent to overseas ports and bases, such as Djibouti on the Horn of Africa and Gwadar in Pakistan. The Djibouti base, which is still under construction, is located more than 4,500 miles from China and marks a major step forward in China’s pursuit of greater international influence. Deploying marines to the Djibouti base would be a shift given that the facility was originally intended as a port/supply depot for the Chinese navy.
A bigger marine corps will also facilitate China’s efforts to establish itself as a global maritime power, a key aspiration China announced two years ago and has continued to promote.
“Besides its original missions of a possible war with Taiwan and maritime defense in the East and South China seas, it is also foreseeable that the PLA Navy’s mission will expand overseas, including the protection of China’s national security on the Korean peninsula, the country’s maritime lifelines, as well as offshore supply depots,” Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie told reporters. “The current size of the marines and its equipment are very limited and not enough to cope with the upcoming new challenges.”
The Chinese Marine Corps was created by China’s communist forces during the Chinese civil war to carry out amphibious assaults against islands held by the nationalists. At the end of the Korean War, China had around 110,000 marines; the marines were disbanded towards the end of the 1950s. Two decades later, the Central Military Commission re-established the marine corps, and the number of marines has continued to grow as various threats and challenges arose. The current expansion project, if China decides to follow through, is particularly ambitious and reflects China’s broad interests in greater power.
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