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60-740: The People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison is a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), responsible for defence duties in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) since the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. The garrison is headquartered in Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building in Central, Hong Kong . The size of the Hong Kong garrison is approximately 10,000–12,000 personnel, including members of

120-586: A humanitarian and medical training practice conducted in Gabon. For the past 10 to 20 years, the PLA has acquired some advanced weapons systems from Russia, including Sovremenny class destroyers , Sukhoi Su-27 and Sukhoi Su-30 aircraft, and Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines. It has also started to produce several new classes of destroyers and frigates including the Type 052D class guided-missile destroyer. In addition,

180-702: A major threat, and the new threats to China are seen to be a declaration of independence by Taiwan , possibly with assistance from the United States, or a confrontation over the Spratly Islands . In 1985, under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the CMC, the PLA changed from being constantly prepared to "hit early, strike hard and to fight a nuclear war" to developing

240-751: A member of the CMC. Previously, the PLA was governed by four general departments; the General Political, the General Logistics, the General Armament, and the General Staff Departments. These were abolished in 2016 under the military reforms undertaken by Xi Jinping, replaced with 15 new functional departments directly reporting to the CMC: Included among the 15 departments are three commissions. The CMC Discipline Inspection Commission

300-602: A new set of uniforms were introduced in 2007. Motor vehicles in the military are right-hand drive, like civilian vehicles in Hong Kong, and carry number plates that start with ZG, standing for z hù g ǎng ( 驻港/駐港 ), Chinese for "[stationed] in Hong Kong." The Hong Kong Garrison reports to both the Southern Theater Command and Central Military Commission in Beijing, and informs Hong Kong Government of any actions within or around Hong Kong. There are 19 sites occupied by

360-525: A reduced role in political affairs and limited budgets; the military was downsized to free resources for economic development . The lack of oversight, ineffective self-regulation, and Jiang Zemin 's and Hu Jintao 's lack of close personal ties to the PLA, led to systemic corruption that persisted through the late-2010s. Jiang's attempt to divest the PLA of its commercial interests was only partly successful as many were still run by close associates of PLA officers. Corruption lowered readiness and proficiency,

420-451: A result of its egalitarian organization, the early PLA overturned strict traditional hierarchies that governed the lives of peasants. As sociologist Alessandro Russo summarizes, the peasant composition of the PLA hierarchy was a radical break with Chinese societal norms and "overturned the strict traditional hierarchies in unprecedented forms of egalitarianism[.]" In the PRC's early years, the PLA

480-689: A rotational basis to combat the Ebola virus outbreak in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau. As of 2023, this was the PLA's largest medical assistance mission in another country. China re-organized its military from 2015 to 2016 . In 2015, the PLA formed new units including the PLA Ground Force, the PLA Rocket Force and the PLA Strategic Support Force. In 2016, the CMC replaced

540-408: A single body. The only difference in membership between the two occurs for a few months every five years, during the period between a Party National Congress , when Party CMC membership changes, and the next ensuing National People's Congress, when the state CMC changes. The CMC is composed of a chairman , vice chairpersons and regular members. The chairman of the CMC is the commander-in-chief of

600-581: Is General Wu Yanan and its political commissar is General Wang Wenquan . Southern Theater Command's area of responsibility (AOR) includes Myanmar , Laos , Vietnam ( Mainland Southeast Asia ) and the South China Sea . The command's primary missions are maintaining security in the South China Sea and likely supporting the Eastern Theater Command in any major amphibious operation against Taiwan . The Southern Theater Command consists of

660-573: Is a limited sub-station with a small flotilla of ships rotating from bases in the mainland China : Various ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy visit the base, but only a few ships remain on semi-permanent basis. 597 钦州 / Qinzhou Two 25 mm guns PLA Hong Kong Garrison has three airbases, with two of these within Hong Kong: People%27s Liberation Army Arms [REDACTED] General Zhang Youxia The People's Liberation Army ( PLA )

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720-655: Is charged with rooting out corruption. The CCP maintains absolute control over the PLA. It requires the PLA to undergo political education, instilling CCP ideology in its members. Additionally, China maintains a political commissar system. Regiment-level and higher units maintain CCP committees and political commissars ( Chinese : 政治委员 or 政委 ). Additionally, battalion-level and company-level units respectively maintain political directors and political instructors. The political workers are officially equal to commanders in status. The political workers are officially responsible for

780-399: Is not a traditional nation-state military. It is a part, and the armed wing, of the CCP and controlled by the party, not by the state. The PLA's primary mission is the defense of the party and its interests. The PLA is the guarantor of the party's survival and rule, and the party prioritizes maintaining control and the loyalty of the PLA. According to Chinese law, the party has leadership over

840-415: Is the PLA's interface with state and foreign entities and insulates the PLA from external influence. Today, the majority of military units around the country are assigned to one of five theatre commands by geographical location. The PLA is the world's largest military force (not including paramilitary or reserve forces ) and has the second largest defence budget in the world. China's military expenditure

900-569: Is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China . It consists of four services — Ground Force , Navy , Air Force , and Rocket Force —and four arms— Aerospace Force , Cyberspace Force , Information Support Force , and Joint Logistics Support Force . It is led by the Central Military Commission (CMC) with its chairman as commander-in-chief . The PLA can trace its origins during

960-515: The Central Military Commission in Beijing and under the administrative control of the adjacent Southern Theater Command . While performing its defense duties, the Hong Kong Garrison must abide by both national and Hong Kong laws, as well as the current rules and regulations of the PLA, according to the Garrison Law , a PRC law. After its entry into Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Garrison abide by

1020-550: The Central People's Government (CPG) stationed a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Hong Kong to manage the defense affairs of the territory. While the garrison has been considered primarily symbolic of Beijing's governance over Hong Kong, it is nevertheless asserted to be a combat-ready force. The Basic Law upon the territory provides that the CPG shall be responsible for

1080-819: The Long March . During the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945, the CCP's military forces were nominally integrated into the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China forming two main units, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army . During this time, these two military groups primarily employed guerrilla tactics , generally avoiding large-scale battles with the Japanese, at

1140-756: The Nanjing Military Region (1954–74), Yang Dezhi in the Jinan Military Region (1958–74), Chen Xilian in the Shenyang Military Region (1959–73), and Han Xianchu in the Fuzhou Military Region (1960–74). In the early days of the Cultural Revolution, the PLA abandoned the use of the military ranks that it had adopted in 1955. The establishment of a professional military force equipped with modern weapons and doctrine

1200-702: The National Revolutionary Army rebelled under the leadership of Zhu De , He Long , Ye Jianying , Zhou Enlai , and other leftist elements of the Kuomintang (KMT), after the Shanghai massacre in 1927. They were then known as the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army , or simply the Red Army. In 1934 and 1935, the Red Army survived several campaigns led against it by Chiang Kai-Shek 's KMT and engaged in

1260-608: The People's Armed Police , People's Liberation Army Navy , People's Liberation Army Air Force , and People's Liberation Army Ground Force . Prior to the handover in 1997, the territory was under British rule , and the defence of the territory was the responsibility of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong , with auxiliary help from the Royal Hong Kong Regiment . The People's Republic of China (PRC) assumed sovereignty over Hong Kong on 1 July 1997 and

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1320-564: The Republican Era to the left-wing units of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) when they broke away in 1927 in an uprising against the nationalist government as the Chinese Red Army , before being reintegrated into the NRA as units of New Fourth Army and Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War . The two NRA communist units were reconstituted as

1380-796: The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by supporting the Afghan mujahidin and ramping up their military presence near Afghanistan in Xinjiang. China acquired military equipment from the United States to defend itself from Soviet attacks. The PLA Ground Force trained and supported the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan War, moving its training camps for the mujahideen from Pakistan into China itself. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of anti-aircraft missiles, rocket launchers, and machine guns were given to

1440-624: The Basic Law and the Garrison Law, actively organizing military training. According to the Garrison Law, the Garrison established working contacts with the Hong Kong Government , and opened the barracks on Stonecutters Island and Stanley to the public to promote Hong Kong people's understanding of and trust in the garrison forces and their personnel. Annual open house events are held to showcase

1500-581: The Chinese armed forces . A goal of the RMA is to transform the PLA into a force capable of winning what it calls "local wars under high-tech conditions" rather than a massive, numbers-dominated ground-type war. Chinese military planners call for short decisive campaigns, limited in both their geographic scope and their political goals. In contrast to the past, more attention is given to reconnaissance , mobility, and deep reach. This new vision has shifted resources towards

1560-554: The Chinese leadership with a stark realization that the PLA was an oversized, almost-obsolete force. The USA's sending of two aircraft carrier groups to the vicinity of Taiwan during the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis prompted Jiang to order a ten-year PLA modernization program. The possibility of a militarized Japan has also been a continuous concern to the Chinese leadership since the late 1990s. In addition, China's military leadership has been reacting to and learning from

1620-470: The Garrison across Hong Kong. According to a Reuters investigation, many of these sites are run down and not fully utilised, which has caused some to argue that the land should be returned and used for housing. The Tsing Shan firing range occupies approximately 80% of the 2,750 hectares of land managed by the PLA. A secret 20th site is a radar facility in Tai Mo Shan , which was discovered in 2014, without

1680-744: The Mujahideen by the Chinese. Chinese military advisors and army troops were also present with the Mujahideen during training. In 1981, the PLA conducted its largest military exercise in North China since the founding of the People's Republic. In the late 1980s, the central government had increasing expenditures and limited revenue. The central government encouraged its agencies and encouraged local governments to expand their services and pursue revenues. The PLA established businesses including hotels and restaurants. The PLA gained more autonomy and permission to engage in commercial activities in exchange for

1740-708: The Ninth Five Year Plan (1996–2000) the PLA was reduced by a further 500,000. The PLA had also been expected to be reduced by another 200,000 by 2005. The PLA has focused on increasing mechanization and informatization to be able to fight a high-intensity war. Former CMC chairman Jiang in 1990 called on the military to "meet political standards, be militarily competent, have a good working style, adhere strictly to discipline, and provide vigorous logistic support" ( Chinese : 政治合格、军事过硬、作风优良、纪律严明、保障有力 ; pinyin : zhèngzhì hégé, jūnshì guòyìng, zuòfēng yōuliáng, jìlǜ yánmíng, bǎozhàng yǒulì ). The 1991 Gulf War provided

1800-554: The PAP, the reserves, and the militia . The armed forces are controlled by the CCP under the doctrine of " the Party must always control the gun ".( Chinese : 党指挥枪 ; pinyin : Dǎng zhǐhuī qiāng ) The PLA and the PAP have the largest delegation in the National People's Congress (NPC), which are elected by servicemember election committees of top-level military subdivisions, including

1860-422: The PLA in 1947. Since 1949, the PLA has used nine different military strategies, which it calls "strategic guidelines". The most important came in 1956, 1980, and 1993. Politically, the PLA and the paramilitary People's Armed Police (PAP) have the largest delegation in the National People's Congress (NPC); the joint delegation currently has 281 deputies—over 9% of the total—all of whom are CCP members. The PLA

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1920-543: The PLA informing the public, as required by the Garrison Law. It was not publicly recognized by the Hong Kong government until 2021. The Commander lives on The Peak at Headquarters House , 11 Barker Road. Other property owned by the Garrison includes the United Services Recreation Club . Bases within Hong Kong are former British facilities namely from the British Army : The naval presence in Hong Kong

1980-788: The PLA operates a base in Tajikistan and a listening station in Cuba. The Espacio Lejano Station in Argentina is operated by a unit of a PLA. The PLAN has also undertaken rotational deployments of its warships at the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia. The People's Republic of China has sent the PLA to various hotspots as part of China's role as a prominent member of the United Nations. Such units usually include engineers and logistical units and members of

2040-503: The PLA under the name of the People's Volunteer Army intervened in the Korean War as United Nations forces under General Douglas MacArthur approached the Yalu River . Under the weight of this offensive, Chinese forces drove MacArthur's forces out of North Korea and captured Seoul , but were subsequently pushed back south of Pyongyang north of the 38th Parallel . The war also catalyzed

2100-417: The PLA's primary objectives, although the armed forces' political loyalty to the CCP has remained a leading concern. Beginning in the 1980s, the PLA tried to transform itself from a land-based power centered on a vast ground force to a smaller, more mobile, high-tech one capable of mounting operations beyond its borders. The motivation for this was that a massive land invasion by Russia was no longer seen as

2160-520: The PLA's theater commands and service branches. At the 14th National People's Congress ; the joint delegation has 281 deputies—over 9% of the total—all of whom are CCP members. The PLA is governed by the Central Military Commission (CMC); under the arrangement of " one institution with two names ", there exists a state CMC and a Party CMC, although both commissions have identical personnel, organization and function, and effectively work as

2220-555: The PLA, with the post generally held by the paramount leader of China; since 1989, the post has generally been held together with the CCP general secretary . Unlike in other countries, the Ministry of National Defense and its Minister do not have command authority, largely acting as diplomatic liaisons of the CMC, insulating the PLA from external influence. However, the Minister has always been

2280-532: The PLA. In 2004, paramount leader Hu Jintao stated the mission of the PLA as: China describes its military posture as active defense , defined in a 2015 state white paper as "We will not attack unless we are attacked, but we will surely counterattack if attacked." The CCP founded its military wing on 1 August 1927 during the Nanchang uprising , beginning the Chinese Civil War . Communist elements of

2340-877: The PLA. During the Sino-Soviet split , strained relations between China and the Soviet Union resulted in bloody border clashes and mutual backing of each other's adversaries. China and Afghanistan had neutral relations with each other during the King's rule. When the pro-Soviet Afghan Communists seized power in Afghanistan in 1978, relations between China and the Afghan communists quickly turned hostile. The Afghan pro-Soviet communists supported China's enemies in Vietnam and blamed China for supporting Afghan anticommunist militants. China responded to

2400-424: The PLAAF has designed its very own Chengdu J-10 fighter aircraft and a new stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20 . The PLA launched the new Jin class nuclear submarines on 3 December 2004 capable of launching nuclear warheads that could strike targets across the Pacific Ocean and have three aircraft carriers, with the latest, the Fujian, launched in 2022. From 2014 to 2015, the PLA deployed 524 medical staff on

2460-418: The armed forces and the CMC exercises supreme military command; the party and state CMCs are practically a single body by membership. Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has also been the CMC Chairman; this grants significant political power as the only member of the Politburo Standing Committee with direct responsibilities for the armed forces. The Ministry of National Defense has no command authority; it

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2520-406: The armed forces. This is particularly visible in maritime territorial disputes where the navy is heavily involved in the planning, coordination and execution of operations by the PAP's China Coast Guard . The PLA's primary mission is the defense of the CCP and its interests. It is the guarantor of the party's survival and rule, and the party prioritizes maintaining control and the loyalty of

2580-417: The assets and combat readiness of the garrison personnel. Garrison troop rotations are also routine. In early 2022, Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping , appointed Major General Peng Jingtang , a former People's Armed Police paramilitary commander, to lead the PLA garrison in Hong Kong. Personnel in the Hong Kong Garrison wore uniforms different from their mainland counterparts until

2640-467: The big anniversary it mounted its biggest parade yet and the first outside of Beijing, held in the Zhurihe Training Base in the Northern Theater Command (within the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region). In December 2023, Reuters reported a military leadership purge after high-ranking generals were ousted from the National People's Congress . Prior to 2017, over sixty generals were investigated and sacked. In addition to its Support Base in Djibouti ,

2700-512: The defense of Hong Kong and shall bear the expenditure for the garrison, whereas the colonial Hong Kong Government before 1997 had to pay for the military. The Garrison Law, subsequently enacted by the National People's Congress, contains specific provisions on the duties and rules of discipline of the garrison personnel, jurisdiction and other questions, to facilitate the Hong Kong Garrison in fulfilling its defence functions along legal lines. Military forces stationed in Hong Kong shall not interfere in

2760-510: The four traditional military departments with a number of new bodies. China replaced its system of seven military regions with newly established Theater Commands: Northern , Southern , Western , Eastern , and Central . In the prior system, operations were segmented by military branch and region. In contrast, each Theater Command is intended to function as a unified entity with joint operations across different military branches. The PLA on 1 August 2017 marked its 90th anniversary. Before

2820-422: The implementation of party committee decisions, instilling and maintaining party discipline, providing political education, and working with other components of the political work system. Southern Theater Command Its jurisdiction includes Guangdong , Guangxi , Hunan , Yunnan , Hainan and the South Sea Fleet , as well as the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau . Its commander

2880-404: The local affairs and the Hong Kong government shall be responsible for the maintenance of public order. The Garrison formally stationed in Hong Kong assumed defence responsibility for Hong Kong from midnight onwards on 1 July 1997. The Hong Kong Garrison includes elements of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force , PLA Navy , and PLA Air Force ; these forces are under the direct leadership of

2940-427: The military in an era of peace. The PLA reoriented itself to modernization, improving its fighting ability, and becoming a world-class force. Deng Xiaoping stressed that the PLA needed to focus more on quality rather than on quantity. The decision of the Chinese government in 1985 to reduce the size of the military by one million was completed by 1987. Staffing in military leadership was cut by about 50 percent. During

3000-447: The navy and air force. The PLA is also actively preparing for space warfare and cyber-warfare . In 2002, the PLA began holding military exercises with militaries from other countries. From 2018 to 2023, more than half of these exercises have focused on military training other than war, generally antipiracy or antiterrorism exercises involving combatting non-state actors. In 2009, the PLA held its first military exercise in Africa,

3060-426: The paramilitary People's Armed Police and have been deployed as part of peacekeeping operations in Lebanon , the Republic of the Congo , Sudan , Ivory Coast , Haiti , and more recently, Mali and South Sudan . As of at least early 2024, China has not fought a war since 1979 and has only fought relatively minor conflicts since. The PLA is a component of the armed forces of China, which also includes

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3120-400: The railroad forces, the communications forces, and the strategic forces, as well as other separate forces (like engineering and construction, logistics and medical services), were established later on. In this early period, the People's Liberation Army overwhelmingly consisted of peasants. Its treatment of soldiers and officers was egalitarian and formal ranks were not adopted until 1955. As

3180-413: The rapid modernization of the PLAAF. In 1962, the PLA ground force also fought India in the Sino-Indian War . In a series of border clashes in 1967 with Indian troops, the PLA suffered heavy numerical and tactical losses. Before the Cultural Revolution , military region commanders tended to remain in their posts for long periods. The longest-serving military region commanders were Xu Shiyou in

3240-424: The same time consolidating by recruiting KMT troops and paramilitary forces behind Japanese lines into their forces. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the CCP continued to use the National Revolutionary Army unit structures until the decision was made in February 1947 to merge the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army, renaming the new million-strong force the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The reorganization

3300-447: The successes and failures of the United States Armed Forces during the Kosovo War , the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan , the 2003 invasion of Iraq , and the Iraqi insurgency . All these lessons inspired China to transform the PLA from a military based on quantity to one based on quality. Chairman Jiang Zemin officially made a " revolution in military affairs " (RMA) part of the official national military strategy in 1993 to modernize

3360-423: Was US$ 296 billion in 2023, accounting for 12 percent of the world's defence expenditures . It is also one of the fastest modernizing militaries in the world, and has been termed as a potential military superpower, with significant regional defence and rising global power projection capabilities. In addition to wartime arrangements, the PLA is also involved in the peacetime operations of other components of

3420-483: Was a barrier to modernization and professionalization, and eroded party control. The 2010s anti-corruption campaigns and military reforms under Xi Jinping from the early-2010s were in part executed to address these problems. Following the PLA's suppression of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre , ideological correctness was temporarily revived as the dominant theme in Chinese military affairs. Reform and modernization have today resumed their position as

3480-463: Was a dominant foreign policy institution in the country. During the 1950s, the PLA with Soviet assistance began to transform itself from a peasant army into a modern one. Since 1949, China has used nine different military strategies, which the PLA calls "strategic guidelines". The most important came in 1956, 1980, and 1993. Part of this process was the reorganization that created thirteen military regions in 1955. In November 1950, some units of

3540-524: Was completed by late 1948. The PLA eventually won the Chinese Civil War, establishing the People's Republic of China in 1949. It then underwent a drastic reorganization, with the establishment of the Air Force leadership structure in November 1949, followed by the Navy leadership structure the following April. In 1950, the leadership structures of the artillery, armored troops, air defence troops, public security forces, and worker–soldier militias were also established. The chemical warfare defence forces,

3600-513: Was the last of the Four Modernizations announced by Zhou Enlai and supported by Deng Xiaoping . In keeping with Deng's mandate to reform, the PLA has demobilized millions of men and women since 1978 and has introduced modern methods in such areas as recruitment and manpower, strategy , and education and training . In 1979, the PLA fought Vietnam over a border skirmish in the Sino-Vietnamese War where both sides claimed victory. However, western analysts agree that Vietnam handily outperformed

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