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4
THE CAPABILITIES OF CHINESE COMMUNIST
ARMED FORCES.
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ANNEXURE
1.
PART I NAVAL.
The Chinese Communist Navy (CCN) consists of three
fleets; the Northern and Eastern with Headquarters at
Tsingtao and Shanghai; comprising bulk of the CCN, and a
small Southern Fleet based on the Pearl River, Tsamkong and
Hainan Island. Details of these fleets are at Appendix 'A'
Part I.
2.
3.
(a)
(b)
(e)
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The Southern Fleet when concentrated is capable of :-
Harassing operations using one Frigate, Kronstadt
Submarine Chasers, and increasing numbers of MTBS.
A fairly extensive minelaying and frogman campaign
using small craft and junks.
Amphibious landings mainly from motorised junks
aided by an elementary form of gun fire support.
It would be possible for the CCN to reinforce the
Southern Fleet with units of the Eastern and Northern fleets
before operations against the Colony were mounted but they
would require:-
(a) air cover for passage of the Formosa Straits.
alternative defences of the Naval bases in the
absence of these fleet units.
(76)
It is unlikely that a large scale reinforcement would go
undetected.
40
It is possible that the Soviet Far East Fleet might
undertake the defence of the Northern bases during the absence
of the CCN but this is considered to be unlikely since they
themselves would almost certainly be employed in furthering
their overall strategic plans in the Far East. It is probable
therefore that some ships of the CCN Northern and Eastern
Fleets would be retained to defend their own bases and the
number of ships available to reinforce the Southern Fleet would
Page 84efore be proportionate and, of these, some pig4suffer loss
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/or casualty