• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.143-151
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to provide the future development of the PRC Marine Corps by analyzing the changing functions via its historical development. The PRCMC is an elite regular military forces and was established by the Central Military Commission(China) in 1953 in order to project the national military power toward the enemy's territory by overcoming maritime obstacles such as seas and lakes. The PRCMC is relatively smaller personnel strength compared with the whole size of the PRC military forces. Thus its functions were limited in the areas of amphibious and land operations, island and land defense against Taiwan before the PRC pursues expanding policy toward outside. However, in the 2000s, China pursues its policy for obtaining absolute national interest so that its functions are rapidly enlarged into defense of the forward naval bases, and those for evolving its power toward outside according to not only the island territorial dispute with Japan, but also Xi Jinping's active expanding policy what we call 'the one belt and one road'. So its personnel strength is slowly increased. If the increasement of the PRC Navy and Marine Corps would develop into the level of which they can contain the status and influence of the US military power in Asia-Pacific area, it is possible that the security environment of the North-east Asia including the Korean peninsula will be fluctuated. Consequently, the ROK also needs to reevaluate the functions and the size of the joint strength of the ROK Navy and Marine Corps considering the transition of the changing security environment.