PLA's Special Operations Forces

Name: People's Liberation Special Operations Forces (PLASOF)
Active 1974 - Present
Country People's Republic of China
Branch People's Liberation Army Ground Force
Type Special forces
Role Counter-terrorism
Military intelligence
Special operations
(Land-, air- and sea-deployable)
Size Classified
Analysts believe current size is 7,000 ~ 14,000 troops
Engagements Counter-piracy operations

Description:
It specialises in rapid reaction combat in a limited regional war under high-tech conditions, commando operations, counter-terrorism, and intelligence gathering. Although the size of the Special Operations Forces is classified, it is estimated to number 7,000 ~ 14,000 troops. The PLA first became interested in modern special warfare in the mid-1960s when it was shifting from the "people's war" to "fighting a local war under hi-tech conditions." The PLA planners believed that the next war would be a short, fast-pace conflict on the periphery rather than a total war on Chinese territories, and conventional infantry-orientated ground forces in their mass numbers could no longer meet the requirements.
On 23 December 1974, their first publicly-known mission was to accompany three Chinese warships in protecting and escorting commercial ships against the Somali pirates, in cooperation with other nations as part of a UN mandate.