CMSI China Maritime Reports

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Description

Main Findings

  • Since 2023, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has established an annualized rhythm of loading PLA Army (PLAA) combat, engineering, and support units onto PLA Navy (PLAN) amphibious ships for international exercises. This integration signals a maturation in Chinese expeditionary logistics, providing Beijing with the proven framework to project sustained, multi-domain combat mass well beyond its regional periphery.
  • Overseas military exercises in locations like Cambodia, Malaysia, and Tanzania serve as vital proving grounds for the PLA to stress-test complex port embarkation, loading, and well-deck management. The successful deployment of PLAA ground forces via PLAN lift proves that the multi-branch coordination mechanisms intended by the 2016 military reforms are actively functioning.
  • While the PLAN Marine Corps is a relatively light force, the PLAA possesses the heavy armor, indirect fires, and logistical trains required for sustained expeditionary power. By successfully deploying heavy assets like ZBD04A infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) and PCL171 howitzers from PLAN shipping, China demonstrates that its overseas power projection ceiling is not constrained by its marine corps.
  • Delivering heavy ground packages enables the PLA to validate its "access without basing" logistics model using civilian port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific and Africa.
  • Transporting ground forces overseas allows the PLA to engage in critical army-to-army diplomacy with partner nations that possess dominant ground forces but lack substantial naval capabilities, helping secure theater access and build geopolitical influence.

Publication Date

June 24, 2026

Publisher

China Maritime Studies Institute, U.S Naval War College

City

Newport, Rhode Island

Keywords

China, PRC, China Maritime Studies Institute, CMSI, People’s Liberation Army, PLAN, PLAN Navy, Ground Forces, PLA Army, PLAA, Loading, Offloading, Transport

China Maritime Report #55: Loading the Well Deck: The PLA Navy's Maturing Role in Projecting Joint Ground Forces

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