Naval History, 1960-1971

The People&s;s Republic of China (PRC) Navy&s;s second decade was a time of severe trials. It began with the Soviet Union&s;s withdrawal of naval assistance in 1960, which had an immediate and devastating effect upon both naval development and operational readiness. Naval development was highly important to the national leadership, however, and beginning in 1962 a resurgence in both construction and operations got under way despite China&s;s adverse economic circumstances. In 1960, China was importing about half of its oil from the Soviet Union. These imports had been slashed by some 40 percent by 1961. The operating forces and their bases were divided into three geographical segments: the North, East, and South Sea fleets, whose commanders apparently took their orders primarily from the chief of naval staff in Beijing. In accordance with the prescriptions of the Young School of naval strategy adopted from the Soviet Union during the 1950s, the backbone of the PRC