The PLA Navy’s (PLAN) South Sea Fleet component of the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command at Hainan Island, which is to the immediate north of the South China Sea, is being equipped with a string of new shore-based establishments to add to the existing sprawling naval bases at Yulin and Longpo, located in the southeastern portion of Hainan.
The PLAN’s largest air base, located at Lingshui, which already hosts KJ-500 AEW & CS and KQ-200 MRMR-ASW platforms, is now all set to receive a permanent detachment of at least 12 J-15 H-MRCAs, which in turn indicates that the Shandong CV-17 aircraft carrier will be permanently homeported at Yulin naval base, where a massive dry-dock capable of undertaking periodic servicing of aircraft carriers has been built.
In addition, dedicated air bases for UAVs and heliports for various types of helicopters have also come up.
