Eastern Theater Command Navy

The Eastern Theater Command Navy, formerly East Sea Fleet (ESF; ), is one of the three fleets of the People's Liberation Army Navy, under the Eastern Theater Command. It was the first naval force formed by the People's Republic of China, on 23 April 1949 and was initially based at Shanghai. Renamed in 1955, it has since been assigned to be part of the People's Liberation Army Navy and its headquarters have been moved to Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, but the fleet continues to patrol the East China Sea. Its flagship is 150 Changhcun.

The fleet was used in a support role during the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) invasion of the previously Kuomintang-held island of Yijiangshan on 14 January 1955. It has engaged in numerous other battles against the Taiwanese military. It has also operated in support of the South Sea Fleet against the People's Army of Vietnam, particularly in the 1980s.

The fleet would have a key role in any invasion of Taiwan, and one of its principal missions is to effectively support a PLA amphibious operation against that island. The fleet has been augmented by two Sovremenny-class missile destroyers, with a further 2 delivered by the end of 2006. Four Kilo class attack submarines have also joined the fleet.

Major naval bases of the fleet

 * Ningbo Fleet Headquarters
 * Shanghai Naval Base
 * Xiangshan Naval Base
 * Zhoushan Naval Base
 * Fujian Naval Base

Ships in the fleet


'''Rescue and salvage ship:
 * 1 Dajiang-class
 * Chongmingdao (862)(崇明岛）

Destroyers
 * 4 Luyang II-class（旅洋II）:
 * Changchun (150)（长春）- flagship of the Fleet
 * Zhengzhou (151)(郑州）
 * Jinan (152)（济南）
 * Xi-an (153) (西安）
 * 4 Sovremenny-class（现代）:
 * 956E Type
 * Hangzhou (136)（杭州）
 * Fuzhou (137)（福州）
 * 956EM Type
 *  Taizhou (138)（泰州）
 *  Ningbo (139)（宁波）
 * 1 Luda-class（旅大）:
 * 051D Type
 * Zunyi (134)（遵义）

Frigates
 * 9 Jiangkai II-class（江凯II）:
 * Zhoushan (529)（舟山）
 * Xuzhou (530)（徐州）
 * Yiyang (548)（益阳）
 * Changzhou (549)（常州）
 * Huanggang (577) (黄冈)
 * Yangzhou (578) (扬州)
 * Jingzhou (532) (荆州)
 * XiangTan (531) (湘潭)
 * "Binzhou" (515) (滨州)
 * 2 Jiangkai I-class（江凯）:
 * Ma'anshan (525)（马鞍山）
 * Wenzhou (526)（温州）
 * 4 Jiangwei II-class（江卫II）:
 * Jiaxing (521)（嘉兴）
 * Lianyungang (522)（连云港）
 * Putian (523)（莆田）
 * Sanming (524)（三明）
 * 2 Jianghu V-class:
 * Beihai (558)（北海）
 * Foshan (559)（佛山）
 * 1 Jianghu I-class:
 * Jiujiang (516)（九江）

Corvettes
 * 10 Jiangdao-class:
 * Bengbu (582) (蚌埠）
 * Shangrao (583)（上饶）
 * Ji'an (586)（吉安）
 * Quanzhou (588) (泉州）
 * Sanmenxia (593) (三门峡）
 * Suzhou (503) (宿州)
 * "Baoding" (511) (保定)
 * "Heze" (512) (菏泽)
 * "Ningde" (510) (宁德)
 * "Ezhou" (513) (鄂州)

Diesel-electric submarines
 * 4 Kilo-class:
 * 364
 * 365
 * 366
 * 367
 * 3 Song-class
 * 320
 * 321
 * 322

Landing ships
 * 1  Yuzhao-Class LPD:
 * Yimeng Shan (988)
 * 1 Yuting III-class LST:
 * Baxian Shan (913)
 * 6 Yuting II-class LST:
 * Danxia Shan (934)
 * Xuefeng Shan (935)
 * Haiyang Shan (936)
 * Qingcheng Shan (937)
 * Putuo Shan (939)
 * Tiantai Shan (940)
 * 1 Yuting-class LST:
 * Lingyan Shan (930)
 * 3 Yukan-class LST:
 * Yuntai Shan (927)
 * Wufeng Shan (928)
 * Zijin Shan (929)

Replenishment ships
 * 3 Fuchi-class
 * Qiandaohu (886)
 * Chaohu (890)
 * Gaoyaohu (966)
 * 1 Fuqing-class'''
 * Poyanghu (882)