The 46th fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy sets sail from a military port in Zhanjiang, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 21, 2024. (Photo by Yang Jie/Xinhua)

Min Jiangtao, a 34-year-old junior officer in China's navy, has witnessed the launch of all three aircraft carriers of China, dubbed Liaoning, Shandong and Fujian.

About seven decades ago when the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy had just been established, then naval commander Xiao Jinguang had to take a fishing boat to inspect Liugong Island, about 2.1 nautical miles from the coast of China's Shandong Province, a fact recorded in a stele inscription on the island.

This year marks the 75th founding anniversary of the PLA Navy. Over the decades, the PLA Navy has undergone steady development, starting from scratch and growing into a strategic force consisting of five services, armed with both nuclear and conventional weapons.

Poised to become a world-class naval force, the PLA Navy is determined to gain the capability to fulfill its missions and tasks in the new era, and to contribute more to maintaining peace in the world.

TOWARD A WORLD-CLASS NAVY

The PLA Navy's weaponry and equipment development has come a long way. In the early days of the establishment of the navy, the total tonnage of its vessels was just a few thousand tonnes, which was less than a single destroyer in the navy of a major power.

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012 marked the start of a "golden period" for the navy's development. The achievements included the launching of the first amphibious assault ship independently developed by China in September 2019 and the commissioning of the new 10,000-tonne destroyer Nanchang in January 2020.

In June 2022, the first ejection aircraft carrier independently designed and built by China, the Fujian, was launched and named.

COMMITMENT TO PEACE

The Chinese Navy owes its development to peace and is going beyond the national borders for peace.

The Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, a commerce and trade hub in east China's Zhejiang Province, has witnessed the many departures of the Chinese naval hospital ship "Peace Ark" on its various humanitarian missions.

The ship has provided medical services for more than 290,000 patients from 45 countries and regions since its commissioning in 2008.

As the main maritime force of the country, the PLA Navy plays an active role in maritime public affairs, maintaining maritime peace, tranquility and order, while continuously providing public security products to the international community.

In April 2023, the Chinese navy participated in the evacuation of Chinese nationals from Sudan following the outbreak of armed conflict in the country.

It was the third overseas evacuation of civilians carried out by the Chinese navy in recent years, following two previous operations in Libya and Yemen in 2011 and 2015, respectively.

During the overseas evacuation of civilians, the Chinese navy demonstrated its commitment to international humanitarian assistance by helping hundreds of foreigners leave the crisis-torn countries.

Over the years, the Chinese navy has been active in carrying out the country's assistance to other countries, including delivering 960 tonnes of fresh water to the Maldives during a water crisis caused by a fire incident in 2014, and sailing over 5,200 nautical miles to assist in disaster relief efforts in the wake of a volcanic eruption in Tonga in 2022.

In the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia, Chinese naval ships have been carrying out vessel protection operations since December 2008.

Over the years, 46 consecutive fleets with over 150 vessels of the PLA Navy have joined the efforts, escorting more than 7,200 Chinese and foreign vessels, helping transform the area once known as "the world's most dangerous area" into a "golden waterway."

The 19th Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) is being held in east China's port city of Qingdao, gathering delegations from 29 countries. This is the second time the WPNS has been held in China after the country first hosted the event in 2014.

Addressing the opening event on Monday, Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that China's armed forces have actively participated in international cooperation of maritime security and provided maritime public security goods, adding that China will play a more positive and open role in international military cooperation.