People's Liberation Army Navy Coastal Defense Force

Not to be confused with China Coast Guard.

The People's Liberation Army Navy Coastal Defense Force is one of five branches of the People's Liberation Army Navy.[1] The Coastal Defence Force is a land-based fighting force with a strength of around 25,000 personnel, they serve to defend China's coastal areas from invasion via amphibious landings or air-attack. Throughout the 1960s to 1980s, the Coastal Defense Force was focused on defending China's coast from a possible Soviet sea-borne invasion. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the threat of an amphibious invasion of China has diminished and therefore the branch is often considered to no-longer be a vital component of the PLAN. Especially as the surface warships of the PLAN continue to improve in terms of anti-ship and air-defence capabilities.[1]

Today the primary weapons of the coastal defense troops are the HY-2, YJ-82, and C-602 anti-ship missiles.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 People's Liberation Army Navy - Coastal Defense Force, globalsecurity.org, Retrieved 6 April 2013