Republic of China Navy

Early years , later served as CNS Hai Yung'' of the Republic of China Navy The Republic of China Navy traces its origins to the Imperial Qing Navy. During the Xinhai Revolution, by late October 1911, nearly the entire Qing fleet had defected to the revolutionary forces. Under the leadership of Admiral Sa Zhenbing (), then Minister of the Navy, who deliberately avoided taking military action against the revolutionaries, the Qing fleet effectively aligned itself with the new Republic. This mass defection formed the foundational core of what would become the Republic of China Navy. Later the commander of one of those ships, Huang Chung-ying (), became the first Minister of the Navy of the Republic of China, where as Sa Zhenbing had served in several civilian administrative roles in the Beiyang government. Several naval expansion programs were proposed during the first decade of the republic, but none of them were carried out because of a lack of funding, the outbreak of World War I, and the chaos of the Warlord Era in China. The cruisers that had been acquired by the Qing dynasty between the 1870s and the 1900s remained the main ships of the Chinese fleet through the 1930s. During this time the ROC Navy consisted of three fleets: the Central, Northeast, and Guangdong fleets, and its command structure was divided because of the warlordism in the country. When Sun Yat-sen established his government in 1917 in Guangzhou he was supported by the Navy admirals Cheng Biguang and Lin Baoyi, and when Chiang Kai-shek began his Northern Expedition in 1926 another admiral, Yang Shuzhuang, led part of the Beiyang Fleet to defect to Chiang's forces. Navy of the Nationalist China Following the success of the Northern Expedition, the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) formally realigned with the Nationalist Government under Chiang Kai-shek. During this time the Navy was commonly referred as the Central Navy (). Prior to 1938, the Republic of China Navy operated as an independent national institution, and was not under the authority of the largely KMT controlled Military Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government. This gave the navy a unique administrative status, distinct from the Army, Military Police, Air Force, and Air Defense Troops, all of which were part of the National Revolutionary Army under the Military Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government. Ironically, the Republic of China Navy during that period, is still commonly referred to by mainland Chinese media—particularly pro-communist outlets—as the Navy of the Kuomintang (Chinese: 国民党海军), despite having little direct association with the Kuomintang party itself. Chiang expressed strong interest in modernizing and expanding the navy, and while some steps were taken—such as acquiring new vessels and reorganizing command structures—these efforts were only partially realized due to limited industrial capacity, financial constraints, and competing military priorities. The most notable examples of these efforts were the acquisition of the two Ninghai-class light cruisers and a number of torpedo boats purchased from the German Reich and the United Kingdom, respectively, reflecting an attempt to build a more capable blue-water force despite the difficult circumstances. By the late 1930s, the ROCN continued to emphasise to coastal and riverine defense, with a particular emphasis on the Yangtze river, whose navigability allowed ocean-going vessels to penetrate deep into the Chinese interior. However, when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, the ROCN proved vastly outmatched by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Several of its key ships, including cruisers, were either destroyed in air raids or deliberately scuttled by their crews as blockships along the Yangtze. With most of its combat vessels either destroyed or scuttled during the early naval engagements of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Republic of China Navy suffered a near-total defeat at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Facing a situation where it could no longer effectively operate a fleet, the Ministry of the Navy was dissolved on January 1, 1938, and downgraded to the Navy Command Headquarters under the Military Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government. This marked the end of the navy’s independent administrative status and its integration into the broader military command structure dominated by the National Revolutionary Army. Chinese Civil War , ex-IJN Destroyer Yukikaze, one of the most notable naval ships received by the ROCN right after WWII, as part of Japan's war reparations Following World War II, the Republic of China Navy received a number of former Japanese and American warships as part of postwar realignment and military aid. Most of the Imperial Japanese Navy vessels transferred to China were delivered as part of Japan's war reparations, while the decommissioned U.S. Navy ships were provided primarily through American military assistance programs. These additions temporarily strengthened the ROCN's capabilities during the turbulent years of the Chinese Civil War, in which the navy played a key role in escorting supply convoys and ultimately in the evacuation of the ROC government and over one million refugees to Taiwan in 1949. In parallel with these developments, the Republic of China Marine Corps was reactivated on September 16, 1947, as part of a broader naval reorganisation. After the retreat to Taiwan, the navy underwent extensive restructuring and revival, a process later immortalized in the post-1949 ROC Navy anthem, the New Navy (). After relocation to Taiwan The island of Taiwan was placed under Japanese rule from 1895, with the Imperial Japanese Navy responsible for defending the waters of Taiwan and Penghu. After World War II, on 25 October 1945, the jurisdiction of Taiwan and Penghu was transferred to the Republic of China and the ROCN began its operation in that territory. Following the relocation of the ROC government to Taiwan, the ROCN was involved in a number of commando attack escorts, evacuation and transport of more displaced soldiers and later to provide patrols and resupply operations to Kinmen and Matsu in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea offshore islands. The Navy Fleet Helicopter Squadron, established on September 1, 1977, marked the official reactivation of naval aviation capabilities for the Republic of China Navy. This milestone ended a nearly-four-decade hiatus in operational naval aviation since the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, during which the original ROC naval air arm had been lost or rendered inactive. Since the 1990s the Navy has grown in importance as the emphasis of the ROC's military doctrine moves towards countering a possible People's Republic of China (PRC) blockade, as well as offshore engagement. As of 2004 the ROCN had been working hard to expand its capability in electronic and anti-submarine warfare, as well as the replacement of antiquated warships and support vessels. In 2018 Lungteh Shipbuilding was awarded a contract to produce eleven Tuo Chiang Block II corvettes and four minelayers for the Taiwanese Navy. In April 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic the ROCN cut short their semi-annual goodwill mission to Central and South America. The flotilla consisting of two frigates and a supply vessel was subject to 30 days of quarantine after returning to Taiwan. In April 2020 Taiwanese boatbuilder Karmin International Co., Ltd. won a NT$450-million (US$14.9-million) contract to supply the Republic of China Navy with eighteen special operations watercraft and eight RIB tenders, the latter for the Cheng Kung-class frigates. Delivery was scheduled for June 2022. The contract covered only the watercraft themselves with their machine guns, infrared equipment, and boarding ladders sourced separately. In December 2025, the ROC Naval Command announced it seeks to purchase 1,500 unmanned surface vessels (USV)s, which would be capable of operating up to 44 kilometers off the coast, use "swarm" tactics, and resist electronic warfare. The procurement is part of Taiwan's proposed new military budget for 2026. == Rank and rating insignia ==