- SCS. In 2015, three PLAN ships from a Gulf of Aden naval escort task force (NETF) evacuated 629 PRC citizens from Yemen to Djibouti and Oman.
- Since 2002, the PLAAF has delivered aid after natural disasters throughout Southeast Asia and South Asia and assisted with evacuations from Libya and Yemen. In January 2022, the PLAAF flew relief supplies to Tonga ten days after a volcanic eruption devastated the island nation, offering the PLA to normalize its presence in the region.
PLA OVERSEAS MILITARY PRESENCE
Counterterrorism. Beijing is implementing its global counterterrorism strategy through international outreach that spans across diplomatic and military domains to garner the assistance of partner governments to prevent terrorist attacks in China and against Chinese citizens and economic projects abroad. The PRC routinely lobbies foreign partners to extradite alleged Uyghur extremists, coordinates with host nations to pursue terrorist threats, and seeks public endorsement of its counterterrorism efforts in multilateral forums. Beijing further leverages involvement in regional security forums, joint border patrols, and international exercises to press its neighbors into adopting the PRC’s approach to counterterrorism operations.
Counterpiracy Efforts. In 2008, the PLAN joined anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden, its first missions outside the Western Pacific. Since then, China has dispatched more than 40 NETFs to the region to escort Chinese and foreign ships. This naval activity demonstrates the PLAN’s increasing familiarity with the area, hones its ability to operate in far seas, and allows the PLAN to advance military diplomacy efforts by conducting port calls in Africa. In 2022, in addition to deploying its 42nd NETF to the Gulf of Aden, the PLAN convened a China-Africa symposium to discuss cooperating on anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Guinea.
Peacekeeping Operations. China is the largest contributor of peacekeepers among the five UN Security Council permanent members, having deployed about 50,000 personnel over 31 years and pledged an 8,000-strong PKO standby force to the UN’s Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System. Beijing frames these efforts as advancing cooperative global governance, peaceful development, and the principles of the UN Charter, which are key components of its responsible global power narrative. However, the UN peacekeeping missions in Africa have also become a testing ground for China's "far seas operations" as Beijing seeks to extend its reach in tandem with the growth and expansion of its interests. The PRC could use its role in the UN PKOs to collect intelligence on other UN units, and supporting these missions demonstrates the PLA’s ability to operate outside of China’s borders.
- In 2022, the PRC provided about 2,200 personnel to eight UN PKO missions in Africa and the Middle East: Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel, Lebanon, Mali, South Sudan, Sudan, and Western Sahara. These personnel consist of groups-infantry, engineering, medical service, and maintenance specialists. The PRC troop contributions have slightly decreased from 2,548 personnel in 2021 to 2,200 in 2022.
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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China
