Republic of China Marine Corps

  

Republic of China Marine Corps
中華民國海軍陸戰隊 Zhōnghuá Mínguó Hǎijūnlùzhàndùi (Mandarin)
Founded	December 1914 (1914-12)
Country	Republic of China
Type	Naval infantry
Role	Amphibious warfare Expeditionary warfare
Size	40,000 active personnel
Part of	Republic of China Navy
Garrison/HQ	Tianjin, Zhili
Motto(s)	陆地猛虎，海上蛟龙 ("Fierce Tiger of the land, Jiaolong of the sea") Former: 永遠忠誠 (Semper Fidelis)
Engagements	Second Sino-Japanese War Chinese Civil War Great War II Korean War Sino–Manchurian conflict Chinese invasion of Manchuria
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	President Zhao Meijin
Commandant of the ROCMC	General He Shoubin
Insignia
Flag

The Republic of China Marine Corps (ROCMC, Chinese: 中華民國海軍陸戰隊; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Hǎijūnlùzhàndùi) is the amphibious arm of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) and serves as the naval infantry arm of the Chinese Navy and is responsible for both amphibious and expeditionary warfare and combined arms tactics. Commonly referred to as the Chinese Marine Corps, the service is responsible for the defense of the Chinese coastline, surrounding waters and islands near China, and the defense of all Chinese naval facilities and bases. The ROCMC also carries out international military operations and expeditionary operations worldwide.

The marines were founded in 1914 and were initially under the direct control of the Kuomintang, but would be formally transfered over to the Chinese Navy by 1924. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the marines saw limited action due to Japanese control over the Yellow Sea and Chinese coasts, but would serve as regular infantry units alongside the Republic of China Army during the war along with occasional marine operations. During the Chinese Civil War, the marine corps served as regular infantry units against the Chinese Communist Party as a desperate action to maintain the Nationalist Government. After the war, the People's Republic of China was established and the unit was renamed the People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps during the communist era until the end of the PRC in 2000. The PLAN Marine Corps participated in the Chinese invasion of Japanese-occupied Korea in the final months of Great War II, carrying out large-scale amphibious landings on the Korean coast.

In the modern era, the Republic of China Marine Corps is considered an elite force in the wider Republic of China Armed Forces and is known for its "Road to Heaven" stage in its 10-week amphibious training program. It is organized into six brigades, each capable of combined arms operations, and has a "Frogmen" special operations unit. The ROC Marine Corps has worked and trained with the Sierran Royal Marines, the British Royal Marines, the Antillean Marine Corps, and the Superian Naval Infantry Corps during the Cold War period of Sino-Western cooperation, and has been compared to them in terms of training, equipment, and the quality of its troops. Since the 2010s, the ROC Marine Corps has been used to enforce China's claims in the South China Sea and other territorial disputes and has seen action in the ongoing conflict against Manchuria.

Organization

Current organization

• Marine Corps Command
  • Corps HQ Battalion
  • Amphibious Armor Group
    • 4 Amphibious Transport Squadrons
    • 2 Amphibious Artillery Squadrons
  • Combat Support Group
  • Marine Corps Special Operations Command
    • Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit ("Frogmen")
  • 1st Marine Brigade
  • 2nd Marine Brigade
  • 3rd Marine Brigade
  • 4th Marine Brigade
  • 5th Marine Brigade
  • 6th Marine Brigade

History

Tiger Banner awarded to the Marine Corps in 2002 by President Ren Longyun, in recognition of their role during the Chinese Civil War.

The ROC Marine Corps was formed in December 1914 from regular infantry companies as the ROC Navy Security Corps. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, there were less opportunities for amphibious warfare as Japan completely dominated the waters around China, and much of the Chinese coast fell to Japanese control early on. Because of this, in 1929 former Navy personnel were organized into three naval infantry divisions, which participated in numerous campaigns alongside the regular Army infantry. These units, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Naval Infantry Divisions, later fought in the Chinese Civil War and were considered to be among the best Nationalist forces. After the Chinese Communist Party victory in the Civil War, they were replaced by the People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps, which were formed on the basis of Communist units that fought to take over islands under Nationalist control.

The Chinese Marine Corps grew from about 11,000 personnel in 1938 to 50,000 in 1950. It saw its largest expansion during Great War II, with over 300,000 Chinese marines by 1957, when Mao Zedong ordered the liberation of Korea from Japanese occupation. The People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps carried out one of the largest amphibious operations in history, landing over 120,000 marines along the northwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula. After the postwar demobilization, the Corps was reduced to 90,000 marines.

In May 2023, it was reported that several Marine Brigades participated in battles for control of coastal cities in southern Manchuria during the Chinese invasion of Manchuria.

Ranks

Officers

Pay grade	General officers				Senior officers			Junior officers			Cadet
	O-10	O-9	O-8	O-7	O-6	O-5	O-4	O-3	O-2	O-1	Special grade
ROC Marine Corps (Edit)	N/A
	No equivalent	General 二級上將	Lieutenant general 中將	Major general 少將	Colonel 上校	Lieutenant colonel 中校	Major 少校	Captain 上尉	Lieutenant 中尉	Second lieutenant 少尉	Officer cadet 軍校生

Enlisted

Pay grade	Senior NCOs					Junior NCOs		Enlisted
	OR-9	OR-8	OR-7	OR-6	OR-5	OR-4	OR-3	OR-2	OR-1
ROC Marine Corps (Edit)
	Master sergeant first class 一等士官長	Master sergeant second class 二等士官長	Master sergeant third class 三等士官長	Senior sergeant 上士	Sergeant 中士	Junior sergeant 下士	Corporal 上等兵	Private first class 一等兵	Private second class 二等兵

Equipment

The ROCMC has been prioritized for the modernization of equipment by the Ministry of National Defense, and the phasing out of older Anglo-American equipment from the Cold War with modern Chinese-designed armored vehicles. As a result the ROC Marine Corps has a higher proportion of modern vehicles than the ROC Army.

Vehicles of the Republic of China Marine Corps

• 

  Humvee

• 

  ZBD-05 amphibious IFV in blue camo

• 

  ZBD-05 amphibious IFV in green camo

• 

  M109A2 self-propelled artillery

• 

  Type 15 light tank

Traditions

ROCMC patch, which itself is based on the Antillean Eagle, Globe, and Anchor.

The Republic of China Marine Corps was heavily inspired by the Sierran Royal Marines and to a lesser extent the Antillean United Commonwealth Marine Corps. The Sino–Continental split and the growing ties between China and Anglo-America during the 1970s and 1980s led to the "Sierrization" or "Americanization" of the People's Liberation Army. The ROCMC was perhaps the most clear example of this, taking many of their current traditions from their Sierran or American-Antillean counterparts. Their motto of "Forever Loyal" is a Chinese translation of Semper Fidelis (before being changed in 2017 to the current motto). The ROCMC also promotes a strong esprit d'corps through the idea that Marine is a title that must be earned, and once earn is held for life. The Marine Corps developed a reputation for having the toughest basic training in the ROC Armed Forces and the most demanding physical standards, outside of special forces units.

The ROCMC trained regularly with the Sierrans and Antilleans until the early 2010s. As of 2019, it still trains regularly with the Republic of Korea Marine Corps and the Tondolese Marine Corps.

See also

• Republic of China Navy