The Republic of China Marine Corps (ROCMC; historically as the Chinese Marine Corps, colloquially 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.

[6] The ROC Marine Corps' official motto is "Forever Loyal" (pinyin: Yǒngyuǎn zhōngchéng), the Chinese translation of "Semper Fidelis".

[7] The ROC Marines train with the USMC though these are generally classified, unofficial, or with trainees officially considered by either side as "observers.

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.

[25] 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.

[26] 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[30][32] The new Nationalist government reduced the size of the ROC Marine Corps in 1928 to save costs, with the independent regiments being combined into the two existing brigades.

[35] After the Marco Polo Bridge incident in July 1937 that started the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese troops landed in Zhejiang province in September.

[36] 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.

[34] Later that month a regiment of the 1st Marine Brigade was deployed to stop Japanese landings along the Yangtze River, before being sent back to Jiangxi in February.

Admiral Chen Shaokuan, the head of the Navy, tried to prevent it and delayed implementing the order, arguing that the marines were needed to defend certain naval bases.

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.

[32] The initial force of marines, a battalion commanded by Yang Houcai, was stationed in Nanjing before going to Shanghai later that year,[32][38] and were deployed along the coast at different locations.

[41] In August 1949, about 1,000 Marines from the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Division defended the Changshan Islands in Shandong Province from 30,000 Communist troops, where they fought to the death.

[32] After the Nationalist Chinese retreat from the mainland to Taiwan in 1949, the expanded ROC Marine Corps was downsized by the government, from 18,563 to 13,713 personnel.

[7] In 1951,[32] USMC Major Robert B. Carney Jr. became the American advisor to the Commandant of the ROCMC, General Zhou Yuhuan [zh], as part of the military assistance to Taiwan (ROC) from the United States under the Mutual Security Act.

The American advisory mission was later expanded, and they helped the Chinese Nationalists restructure the ROCMC, consisting of several brigades that were similar to a regimental combat team.

Around this time the service adopted its insignia with a map of China on a globe, an anchor, and a 12-point KMT White Sun emblem above them.

[7] The crisis began when the ROC-controlled Kinmen Islands off the coast of Fujian Province were attacked by Communist artillery fire from August 23, 1958.

The ROC Marine Corps' LVT units were used to deliver supplies to the population of the islands, starting on September 10.

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.

[51][52] 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.

[56] The International Institute of Strategic Studies reported the ROC Marine Corps has 100 main battle tanks (M60A3) and over 200 amphibious assault vehicles of different types, as of 2023.