People's Liberation Army 中国人民解放军 | |
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| Founded | 1927 August 1 |
| Membership (2022) | 2,300,000 |
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the armed forces of the People's Republic of China. According to Hu Jintao, it protects the sovereignty of China and maintains world peace.[1]
History
The predecessor to the PLA was the Chinese Red Army founded in 1927. When the PRC was founded in 1949, the PLA only had 17 fighter jets and most of its weapons had been captured from the Kuomintang or Japanese invaders. The PLA downsized in the 1980s by about a million soldiers and by another 500,000 between 1997 and 2000. Although it now has fewer soldiers, they are more educated and better equipped.[2]
The PLA was not directly involved in the defence of Korea against the US, as China did not wish to officially go to war with the UN coalition. However, the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) which fought in Korea was made up of units from the PLA.
The PLA has fought in border skirmishes with India, and has previously attempted to reclaim Taiwan Province from the Republic of China government. Due to the Sino-Soviet split, the PLA has also fought in border skirmishes against both the Soviet Union and Vietnam. More recently, the People's Liberation Navy has fought against the People's Navy of Vietnam due to territorial disputes in the South China Sea.