Chinese IFV in Djibouti

Judging from this set of open ceremony photos, the first batch of PLAN Marine stationing at Djibouti is supported by at least 6x ZBL-08 30mm IFV and 4x Dongfeng Warrior 4×4 light IFV with 12.7mm HMG

DJIBOUTI, Aug.1 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony marking the entry of troops into the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA) support base in Djibouti was held on Tuesday in the base's barracks.
The ceremony marked the first time that China has opened a military support base overseas. It will fulfill China's international obligations regarding humanitarianism aid and escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia.

A Chinese national flag ceremony and a military parade were held in the barracks.
The PLA support base in Djibouti was established on July 11 based on a decision by both China and Djibouti and will be conducive to China fulfilling its international committments.

Monday, March 06, 2017

"We will have a bigger Navy and Marine Corps" Admiral Liu Xiaojiang

Speaking at the current National People’s Congress session on Sunday,  Admiral Liu Xiaojiang. the former Political Commissar of the PLAN stressed that the PLAN will play an increasingly important role in national defense - for the readers of this blog - with additional Army transfers to the PLAN Marine's Order of battle (中国海军上将证实：海军人员编制舰艇规模将扩大)  .

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Long expected, the third PLAN Marine Brigade is now here.

The commission of the third PLAN Marine Brigade should come as no surprise since "with great power comes great Marines".  The current two-Marine Brigade ORBAT simply does not have the manpower to fulfill all those new "historical missions" the PLA high command has planned for them.  The question is really about which PLA ground unit will be transferred to the navy and how soon.

The first PLAN Marine Brigade commissioned on May 1980.  164th Motorized Infantry Division, 41st Army Group Army transferred to the Chinese Marine Corps as the 164th Marine Brigade on July 1998.  This new Marine Brigade is another army transfer, this time from the 77th "Yimeng/沂蒙" Motorized Infantry Brigade, 26th Group Army, Jinan MR/ Northern Theater Command.

The 77th is a proud PLA outfit, commissioned by the CMC on December 1945 and participated in some of the major campaigns during the Chinese Civil War (The Battle of Luannan, the Battle of Laiwu, the Battle of Menglianggu, the Battle of Kaifeng, the Battle of Huaihai, the Battle of the Yangtze River, and the Battle of Shanghai).  It also took part in the Second, Fourth, and Fifth campaigns of the "War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea".

Yimeng Brigade's unit sleeve insignia can be seen from the picture above  

Saturday, January 14, 2017

ZTL09 8x8 Wheeled Light Tank to the PLAN Marine??

ZTL09 8x8 Wheeled Light Tanks sporting the now-famous "Blue Smurf" camo were spotted in Sanya City, near the HQ of the PLAN Marine.  Rumor has it that they are now getting those wheeled new toys to increase their mobility for MOOTW and non-amphibious operations.  Time will tell.