Military Power of the People's Republic of China, 2008 Appendix: China and Taiwan Forces Data

Figure 10: Taiwan Strait Military Balance, Ground Forces
Type	China		Taiwan Total
Type	Total	Taiwan Strait Area	Taiwan Total
Personnel (Active)	1.25 million	440,000	130,000
Group Armies	18	8	3
Infantry Divisions	19	8	0
Infantry Brigades	24	11	8
Mechanized Infantry Divisions	4	1	0
Mechanized Infantry Brigades	5	1	3
Armor Divisions	9	4	0
Armor Brigades	8	3	5
Artillery Divisions	2	2	0
Artillery Brigades	17	6	5
Airborne Divisions	3	3	0
Amphibious Divisions	2	2	0
Amphibious Brigades	3	3	3
Tanks	6,700	2,800	1,100
Artillery Pieces	7,400	2,900	1,600
Note: The PLA active ground forces are organized into Group Armies. Infantry, armor, and artillery units are organized into a combination of divisions and brigades deployed throughout the PLA’s seven MRs. A significant portion of these assets are deployed in the Taiwan Strait area, specifically the Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Jinan MRs. Taiwan has seven Defense Commands, three of which have Field Armies. Each Army contains an Artillery Command roughly equivalent to a brigade plus.

Figure 12: Taiwan Strait Military Balance, Air Forces
Aircraft	China		Taiwan Total
Aircraft	Total	Within range of Taiwan	Taiwan Total
Fighters	1,630	330	390
Bombers/Attack	620	160	0
Transport	450	40	40
Note: The PLAAF and the PLA Navy have approximately 2,250 operational combat aircraft. These consist of air defense and multi-role fighters, ground attack aircraft, fighter- bombers, and bombers. An additional 1,450 older fighters, bombers and trainers are employed for training and R&D. The two air arms also possess approximately 450 transports and over 100 surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft with intelligence, surface search, and airborne early warning capabilities. The majority of PLAAF and PLA Navy aircraft are based in the eastern half of the country. Currently, 490 aircraft could conduct combat operations against Taiwan without refueling. However, this number could be significantly increased through any combination of aircraft forward deployment, decreased ordnance loads, or altered mission profiles.

Figure 14: Taiwan Strait Military Balance, Naval Forces
Type	China		Taiwan Total
Type	Total	East and South Sea Fleets	Taiwan Total
Destroyers	29	17	4
Frigates	45	36	22
Tank Landing Ships	26	24	12
Medium Landing Ships	28	23	4
Diesel Attack Submarines	54	32	4
Nuclear Attack Submarines	5	1	0
Coastal Patrol (Missile)	45	35	51
Note: The PLA Navy has the largest force of principal combatants, submarines, and amphibious warfare ships in Asia. After years of neglect, the force of missile-armed patrol craft is also growing. In the event of a major Taiwan conflict, the East and South Sea Fleets would be expected to participate in direct action against the Taiwan Navy. The North Sea Fleet would be responsible primarily for protecting Beijing and the northern coast, but could provide mission critical assets to support other fleets.

Figure 17: China's Missile Force
China's Missile Inventory	Ballistic and Cruise		Estimated Range
China's Missile Inventory	Missiles	Launchers	Estimated Range
CSS-2	15-20	5-10	3,000+ km
CSS-3	15-20	10-15	5,400+ km
CSS-4	20	20	13,000+ km
DF-31	<10	<10	7,200+ km
DF-31A	<10	<10	11,200+ km
CSS-5	60-80	60	1,750+ km
CSS-6	315-355	90-110	600 km
CSS-7	675-715	120-140	300 km
DH-10	50-250	20-30	2,000+ km
JL-2	Developmental	10-14	7,200+ km
Note: China’s Second Artillery maintains at least 5 operational SRBM brigades; an additional two brigades are subordinate to PLA ground forces – one garrisoned in the Nanjing MR and the other in the Guangzhou MR. All of SRBM units are deployed to locations near Taiwan.