South Sea Fleet
The Southern Theater Command Navy (), or the South Sea Fleet (SSF; ) is one of the three fleets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, operating in the South China Sea under the Southern Theater Command. It is headquartered in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province. Initially, the fleet's strength consisted mostly of former Kuomintang ships and personnel, which either defected or were captured by the People's Liberation Army. One of three fleets of the People's Liberation Army Navy, the SSF's duties were to protect the city of Guangzhou and the Pearl River regions, and support  the PLA in capturing islands that were still in the hands of the Kuomintang forces. The fleet's development has been slow, because most of China's shipbuilding industry is located on the northern or eastern coasts. In the 1970s the fleet underwent a major buildup, due to conflict in the Paracel Islands and other reefs in the South China Sea. In 1974, the SSF took the Paracel Islands from South Vietnam, which resulted in the sinking of one South Vietnamese frigate while damaging another. The latest incident was in 1988, when a Chinese naval task force engaged Vietnamese naval  forces, sinking one Vietnamese warship and damaging another. Most of the fleet's surface ships are located at Zhanjiang naval base, while all of the fleet's submarines are at Yulin Naval Base, on Hainan Island. The SSF has many other bases included Guangzhou, Haikou, Shantou, Mawei, and Beihai, while naval air force bases are at Lingshui, Haikou, Sanya, Zhanjiang, and Guiping. The fleet's area of operations is divided into six zones. Structure. Functional Departments. The South Sea Fleet consists of the following departments: Naval Detachments. South Sea Fleet further divides into the following ship detachments: Major Naval Bases  in the Fleet. The fleet headquarters was, at first, at Guangzhou, but was later relocated to Zhanjiang. Naval air force bases: Ships in the fleet. The flagship of the fleet is the "Shandong" (17), a Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier. Aircraft carrier Landing helicopter dock Destroyers: Frigates: Corvettes: Diesel-Electric submarines: Landing ships: Replenishment ships: Auxiliary ships: