 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2018) |
| Eastern Theater Command Navy | |
|---|---|
 The People's Liberation Army Navy's jack and ensign | |
| Active | 1955–present |
| Country | China |
| Allegiance | Chinese Communist Party |
| Branch | People's Liberation Army Navy |
| Type | Naval fleet |
| Part of | Eastern Theater Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Ningbo, China |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Wei Gang |
TheEastern Theater Command Navy (ETCN), or theEast Sea Fleet (ESF) before February 2018, is a formation ofChina'sPeople's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the naval component of theEastern Theater Command.[1]
The PLAN was formed toward the end of theChinese Civil War. In March 1949,Zhang Aiping of theThird Field Army was ordered by theCentral Military Commission (CMC) of theChinese Communist Party to create a naval force from the field army. Zhang's only previous naval experience was organizing an irregular riverine force nearHongze Lake in 1941 and leading it in a successful campaign against local bandits.[2] The PLAN was created on 21 April when Zhang established the East China Military Region Navy, or East China Navy (ECN), with a thirteen-member headquarters,[3] and he was formally appointed by the CMC as the ECN's commander and commissar on 4 May.[4] The ECN was reinforced by personnel from the Third Field Army,[3] which would also dominate its and the later ESF's leadership,[5] but its early operational capabilities were based on personnel andmateriel captured or recruited from the retreatingRepublic of China (ROC). The latter included Lin Zun, who defected with theROC Navy's Second Squadron and became the ECN's, and later the ESF's, deputy commander. The ECN's First Flotilla was formed in early May atZhenjiang. The headquarters moved toShanghai on 27 May. By late-June, the ECN was responsible for operational and naval industrial activities along theEast China Sea coastline and theYangtze up toJiujiang.[6]
Yuan Yelie became ECN commander in February 1951.[5] The ECN became the ESF in 1955.[7][5]
ETCN headquarters is atNingbo, with additional bases inFujian andZhoushan. It controls coastal defenses fromLianyungang toDongshan County.[8]
In 2017, subunits included:
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