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The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) – the collective name for the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – is the world’s largest military force. The PLA encompasses four service branches: ground forces (the Army), the Navy, the Air Force, and the Second Artillery (strategic missile force). Following the 200,000 troop reduction from 2003~2005, the total end-strength of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been reduced from 2.5 million to 2.3 million. There are 660,000 personnel serving in the People’s Armed Police (PAP), and 1.2~1.5 million in the reserve forces and militia.

Ground Forces. Accounting for about 70% of the PLA’s total strength, the ground forces consist of 18 Group Armies (GA), which contain among them some 25 infantry divisions, 28 infantry brigades, 9 armoured divisions, 9 armoured brigades, 2 artillery divisions, 19 artillery brigades, 19 antiaircraft artillery/air-defence missile brigades, and 10 army aviation (helicopter) regiments.

Navy. The 250,000-man People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is organised into three major fleets: the North Sea Fleet headquartered at Qingdao, the East Sea Fleet headquartered at Ningbo, and the South Sea Fleet headquartered in Zhanjiang. Each fleet consists of a number of surface ship, submarine, naval air force, coastal defence, and marine units.

Air Force. The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), with some 250,000 personnel, is organised into seven Military Region Air Forces (MRAF). The largest operational units within the Aviation Corps is the air division, which has 2~3 aviation regiments, each with 20~36 aircraft. The Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Corps is organised into SAM divisions and brigades. There are also three airborne divisions manned by the PLAAF.

Second Artillery Corps. The Strategic Missile Force has a total of 15~20 Missile Brigades organised into six Missile Corps (Bases).

People’s Armed Police. The PAP Internal Security Forces are organised into 14 mobile divisions, 31 provisional/municipal internal security general corps, and 23 provisional/municipal border defence general corps.