Another Historic Year for the PLA Navy

For the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the biggest surprise of 2023 was the end-of-year announcement that Admiral Dong Jun, chief of the PLA Navy (PLAN), had been appointed as the 14th Minister of Defense.¹ News of Admiral Dong’s appointment was overshadowed in Western media by the mystery surrounding the removal of his predecessor, Army General Li Shangfu. But the first-ever appointment of a career PLAN officer as head of the PLA is a testament to the importance Chairman Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have placed on transforming China into a great naval power to achieve the so-called Great Rejuvenation of China. Toward that end, growth has continued in the number of ships, submarines, and naval aircraft and their operations at sea.