China plans to increase the number of its Marine Corps units from 20,000 to 100,000 in order to protect its vital marine communications and growing interests abroad, according to Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post citing military sources and experts.

The publication refers to the Chinese logistics base in Djibouti and port of Gwadar in the southwest of Pakistan. The areas of protection of interests also include the Korean Peninsula, the East China and South China Sea, and land and sea territories along the Silk Road, including Afghanistan.The newspaper further noted that the Chinese marine contingent has been nearly doubled to the existing 20,000 by transferring two regular army brigades to their squad. Tiếp tục đọc “Marine Corps to Protect China’s Growing Interest in Asia-Pacific Region”