The 2018 South China Sea Parade () was a

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

held in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

near

Sanya Sanya; Chinese postal romanization, also spelled Samah is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan, Hainan Province in Southeast China, South China. According to the Sixth National Populati ...

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

on April 13, 2018. It is the biggest marine parade since the establishment of the

Communist State A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

in 1949 and according to the Chinese government, the biggest in 600 years. It saw 50 warships, 76 fighters and more than 10,000 military officers and soldiers taking part.

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, reviewed the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...

on April 11, 2018. More than half of the vessels were commissioned after the

18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party The 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held November 8–14, 2012 at the Great Hall of the People. Due to term limits and age restrictions, seven of the nine members of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) retir ...

in November 2012, when Xi became the

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party ( zh, s=中国共产党中央委员会总书记, p=Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì) is the leader of the Chinese Communist Part ...

(

paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important Supreme leader, political figure in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberatio ...

Parade Participants

The First Echelon

* Two

Type 094 submarine The Type 094 (; Chinese designation: 09- IV; NATO reporting name: Jin class) is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines developed by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force. The Type 094 succeeds the Type ...

s * Four Type 093 submarines

The Second Echelon

* Six

Type 039 submarine The Type 039 submarine (NATO reporting name: Song-class) is a class of diesel-electric submarines of the People's Liberation Army Navy. The class is the first diesel-electric submarine to be made in China and also the first Chinese made diesel-e ...

The Third Echelon

* Four

Type 052D destroyer The Type 052D destroyer (NATO/ OSD reporting name: Luyang III-class destroyer) is a class of guided-missile destroyers in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and currently one of the most numerous principal surface combatant class ...

s: ''Hefei (DDG-174)'', ''Yinchuan (DDG-175 )'', ''Changsha (DDG-173)'' and ''Kunming (DDG-172)''. * Two

Type 052C destroyer The Type 052C destroyer (NATO/ OSD Luyang II-class destroyer) is a class of guided-missile destroyers in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force (PLAN). The Type 052C introduced both fixed active electronically scanned array (AE ...

s: ''Changchun (150 )'' and ''Zhengzhou (151)'' * Two

Type 054A frigate The Type 054A (NATO/ OSD Jiangkai II) is a Ship class, class of guided-missile frigate from the People's Republic of China. It is a development of the Type 054 frigate; compared to its predecessor, the Type 054A has medium-range air defense capa ...

s: ''Hengshui'' (572) and ''Liuzhou (573)''

The Fourth Echelon

Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning ''Liaoning'' (16; ) is a Chinese Type 001 aircraft carrier. The Chinese aircraft carrier programme, first aircraft carrier commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force, she was originally classified as a training ship, inte ...

Type 901 fast combat support ship The Type 901 combined replenishment ship ( zh, 901型综合补给舰, NATO reporting name: Fuyu-class AOE, also known as ''Hulunhu''-class) is a class of fast combat support ships of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. Design The Type 9 ...

: ''Hulunhu (965)'' * Type 052D destroyer: ''Xining (DDG-117 )'' * Two Type 052C destroyers: ''Lanzhou (170)'' and ''Haikou (717)'' * Type 051C destroyers: ''Shijiazhuang (116)''

The Fifth Echelon

* Two

Type 071 amphibious transport dock The Type 071 (NATO reporting name: Yuzhao) is a class of Chinese amphibious transport dock ships in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The Type 071 provides the PLAN with capabilities and flexibility not found in its prev ...

s: '' Kunlun Shan (998)'' and ''Changbai Shan (989)'' * Two

Type 072A landing ship The Type 072A landing ship (NATO/ OSD ''Yuting II''-class landing ship tank) is a class of amphibious warfare ship in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Nav ...

s: ''Wutai Shan (917)'' and Wuyi Shan (914) *

: ''Jinan (152)'' *

: ''Hengyang (568)''

The Sixth Echelon

* Eight

Type 056 corvette The Type 056 corvette (NATO reporting name: Jiangdao-class corvette) is a class of littoral combat-oriented corvette (designated natively as "light frigate") deployed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). They replace older coast ...

s: ''Xinyang (501)'', ''Huangshi (502)'', ''Qinhuangdao (505)'', ''Jingmen (506)'', ''Tongren (507)'', ''Qujing (508)'', ''Hanzhong (520)''.

The Seventh Echelon

Type 903 replenishment ship The Type 903 combined replenishment ship ( zh, 903型综合补给舰, NATO reporting name: ''Fuchi'') is a class of replenishment oiler (AOR) built for the People's Liberation Army Navy, serving as a principal fleet auxiliary ship for blue-water ...

: ''Luomahu (964)''. * Type 815G spy ship: ''Tianwangxing (853)'' *

Type 920 hospital ship The Type 920 hospital ship (NATO reporting name: Anwei) is a class of hospital ship operated by the People's Liberation Army Navy of China. History (or ''Peace Ark''), the lead ship, commissioned in 2008, was the "center of China's maritime ...

: ''Daishandao (866)'' * Type 910 Auxiliary ship: ''Zu Chongzhi (893)'' *

Type 0891A training ship ''Shichang'' is a training ship in the People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The ship is formally designated as a "defence mobilization vessel" and may be used for helicopter or navigation training, as a container sh ...

: ''Qi Jiguang (83)'' * Type 636A hydrographic survey ship: ''Deng Jiaxian (874)''. *

Type 926 submarine support ship Type 926 submarine support ship with NATO reporting name Dalao is a class of submarine rescue and supply ship developed by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and as of mid-2014, a total of three are in service. This ship is capabl ...

: ''Oceanic Island (864)''. * Tugboat: ''739''

Gallery

References

{{Military Parades of the People's Liberation Army 2018 in China Military parades in China South China Sea Parade Military history of the People's Republic of China 21st-century military history of China