Sanya Naval Complex: Strategic Importance and Facilities

The Sanya naval complex includes the Yulin Naval Base in the city’s eastern suburbs, which serves as an important surface fleet and submarine support facility.

The country’s second carrier Shandong is also mainly based in Sanya, while the Liaoning’s homeport is the city of Qingdao in eastern Shandong province, which is also the headquarters of the navy’s North Sea Fleet.

The Hainan base could be considered more strategically important given its geographic location, especially as China faced persistent pressure from the US and its allies in the first island chain, the magazine said.