This Day, That Year
Item from June 3, 1988, in China Daily: A marine corps craft leaves its mother ship and moves toward shore. The marine corps of the People's Liberation Army is strengthening its military training and equipment to safeguard national interests and the security of China's territorial waters.
A senior official at naval headquarters disclosed that the training is mainly aimed at upgrading the corps' ability to defend the islands in the South China Sea ... Set up in early 1980, the marine corps became the fifth division of the navy, following the submarine fleet, surface fleet, naval air force and harbor defense force.
The People's Liberation Army naval marine corps has played active roles in UN peacekeeping missions and multinational anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden in recent years.
