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Arm of the Republic of China Navy

The Republic of China Marine Corps (ROCMC; also known as the ROC Marine Corps or the ROC Marines and retroactively as the Chinese Marine Corps or the Chinese Marines, but colloquially as the Taiwanese Marine Corps) is the amphibious arm of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) responsible for amphibious warfare, counter landing and reinforcement of the areas under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China (ROC), including the island of Taiwan, Kinmen, and the Matsu Islands, and defense of ROCN facilities, also functioning as a rapid reaction force and a strategic reserve capable of amphibious assaults. Established in 1914 on Mainland China, the ROCMC is considered the most selective branch within the ROC Armed Forces. The ROC Marines have gained much publicity for the "Road to Heaven" phase of one of their training courses which is the final phase of the 10 week long selection program for their special forces, the Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit. The ROC Marine Corps' official motto is "Forever Loyal" , the Chinese translation of "Semper Fidelis".

The main force of the ROC Marine Corps consists of two Marine Brigades assisted by the Amphibious Vehicle Group, along with the Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit, with the latter being comparable to the USMC Force Reconnaissance. There used to be three brigades, but one was disbanded in 2013.

In 1909, the government of the Qing dynasty sent the Minister of the Navy, Zaixun, to study Western navies. Based on his findings in Britain, and noting the lack of coordination between China's ground and naval forces during the First Sino Japanese War, he recommended to the Qing court that a naval land force be created to defend naval facilities and capture strategic locations. An effort was made to create a Naval Guard Corps at a base in Shandong, but it was still in the early stages of development when the 1911 Revolution broke out. With the establishment of the Republic of China, the Naval Guard Corps was under the control of the Beiyang government. During the Revolution, several Chinese naval cadets studying Japan returned to participate in the fighting, and became part of a small "Marine Corps" organized by the revolutionary governor of Shanghai, Chen Qimei. It had several hundred members and fought against Qing forces before being disbanded when the emperor abdicated. During the presidency of Yuan Shikai, the original Naval Guard Corps was redeployed from Shandong to Shanghai and was used to suppress the Second Revolution in 1913. In December 1914, the Naval Guard Corps was reformed as the Republic of China Marine Corps by the Ministry of the Navy, on the recommendation of Admiral Liu Guanxiong, to better protect the Chinese coast. The ROCMC consisted of one battalion organized into four infantry companies, and was stationed in Fujian. A second battalion was added in 1918. From that point the Marine Corps was under the direct command of the Navy Ministry in Beijing. During the early Republic, the marines provided security at naval bases, and suffered from the same lack of pay and resources as the rest of the Navy because of the political division and warlordism. In 1922, a marine battalion was involved in operations against bandits in Fujian. In January 1923, a Marine Corps Command was created there by the Navy Ministry, and the Corps was expanded over the next several years to continue maintaining order in Fujian, with the 1st Mixed Brigade of the Marine Corps being created later that year. The brigade had four regiments along with artillery and machine gun battalions. Also during the warlord era, the Fengtien clique in northeast China and the forces of Sun Yat sen's alternative government in the south also created marine units, but they never reached the strength of the main ROC Marine Corps in Fujian, which was loyal to the Beiyang government. In 1925, the Navy Ministry under the admirals Lin Jianzhang and Du Xigui ordered the downsizing of the Marine Corps, with the 1st Marine Mixed Brigade being abolished in October, though was restored in January 1926 by Admiral Yang Shuzhuang and again participated in operations. When the Northern Expedition began, the Marine Corps in Fujian defected to the KMT National Revolutionary Army forces under He Yingqin, along with other elements of the Beiyang Fleet. In December 1926, the Marine Corps of the NRA was established. The marines fought with the National Revolutionary Army in 1927, and under Admiral Yang Shuzhuang the Corps was expanded to fight against warlords in the Fujian province, by incorporating the 11th Mixed Brigade of the former Beiyang forces. In August two Marine Mixed Brigades and four independent regiments were created. A Marine unit was deployed for the campaign against the Zhili clique warlord Sun Chuanfang in the Yangtze River valley, while other units were continuing operations in Fujian. By 1928, the Marine Corps absorbed additional units and had more than doubled in size, consisting of two mixed brigades and six regiments, which were stationed at different locations along the Fujian coast. and the coastline. During the war the Navy was used to support land operations, and it lost much of its personnel, which were made up for by transferring marines to the Navy. After the Marco Polo Bridge incident in July 1937 that started the Second Sino Japanese War, Japanese troops landed in Zhejiang province in September. The ROC 3rd Marine Regiment from the 2nd Marine Brigade was deployed to Zhejiang to defend Hangzhou, but the city had fallen by then, so the regiment stayed in Jinhua and Quzhou to defend those cities together with the Army. The 1st Marine Brigade was sent to Jiangxi province. In January 1938, the Military Commission ordered a reduction in the size of the Navy, including the Marine Corps, because of the war with Japan. The total number of marines is estimated to have been around 7,000.

The commander of the Republic of China Navy in the late 1940s, Admiral , decided to recreate the ROC Marine Corps on 1947 after speaking to the U. S. Marine general Gerald C. Thomas in Qingdao. Gui worked with the U. S. forces in East Asia, and after his return to China he thought the ROC Navy would benefit from having marines. He chose soldiers and officers from the Republic of China Army to become the members of the Marine Corps, and it was expanded over then next several years by additional volunteers from the Army. In 1951, The Marine Corps School was established for officer training in 1952. In 1950, the Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit, tasked with collecting intelligence for the senior command through amphibious operations, was established as a recon detachment with each of the two Marine Brigade headquarters, having 20 members per detachment. They received specialized amphibious recon training. In 1955, when the 2nd Marine Brigade was expanded into the 1st Marine Division of the ROCMC, its detachment was upgraded to an amphibious reconnaissance company attached to the division HQ battalion. In 1966 the 2nd Marine Division was created, and a second amphibious recon company was also made. In 1969 the companies were increased to battalion size. In 1996 they were merged as the 105th Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Battalion under the Marine Corps Headquarters, and a recon company was established in each division. In 1997, the 66th Marine Division's recon company was combined with the 105th Battalion to form the Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit. In 2001 the 99th Marine Division's recon company joined the unit as well. In 2005 the ROC Navy's Underwater Demolition Team (equivalent of the U. S. Navy SEALs) was combined with the ARP. In 1997 the government decided to downsize the military, including the Marine Corps. As of January 1998, around the start of the ROC government's military reduction plan, the Marine Corps consisted of the 66th and 99th Marine Divisions, the Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit, the Landing Vehicle Group, the 652nd Regiment, the recruit training center, the Marine Corps School, the headquarters battalion, communications battalion, guard battalion, and three garrison commands in the ROC administered islands (Wuqiu, Dongsha, and Nansha), with a total of 22,247 personnel. The two divisions were reorganized as the 66th and 99th Marine Brigades. Several units from the former 66th Division were used to organize the Marine Base Guard Brigade, which became the 77th Marine Brigade in 2005. Also in 2005, the Marine Corps Headquarters became the Marine Corps Command. In 2013, the 77th Marine Brigade was disbanded, and some of its units were reorganized as an Air Defense Group. During the administration of President Ma Ying jeou, the Corps was reduced from 16,000 to 9,000 marines, and in 2014 there was a proposal to disband it altogether. Over the decades, the mission of the ROCMC changed from leading an invasion of the Mainland to defending Taiwan and its offshore islands, especially by disrupting PRC amphibious operations. Because of Taiwan's lack of relations with foreign militaries since 1979, in the 21st century the ROCMC remains a heavily mechanized force that is not very mobile, like the United States Marine Corps of the late 1970s, before the USMC placed more emphasis on maneuver warfare and started using the marine air–ground task force. The ROCMC does not have its own aviation. Despite this, the Marine Corps is capable of reinforcing offshore islands and serving in the role of power projection. In 2017, the "Marine Roar" annual training exercise between the ROCMC and the USMC was revived. It took place from 1958 until being suspended in 1979, when the U. S. ended its diplomatic relations with the ROC. Since 2017 the assistance that Taiwan's armed forces have been getting from the U. S. has increased. In 2020 the annual month long training exercise held by the ROC Marine Corps with members of the U. S. Marine Raider Regiment was conducted publicly for the first time since 1979. Also in 2020, Taiwanese troops from the 99th Marine Brigade were deployed to Pratas Island (Dongsha) to support the Coast Guard there as reports came out that the People's Liberation Army Navy was planning war games in the region simulating the amphibious invasion of an island. In 2021, marines from the 99th Brigade traveled to Guam where they participated in annual training with the U. S. Marine Corps.

The ROC Marine Corps has developed a strong ethos and a high level of professionalism. Basic training for enlisted marines is eight weeks. Marine officers and non commissioned officers have to attend the Marine Corps School.

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

The rank insignia of non commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.