"After nearly 60 years of construction and development, China has set a strategic target to realize basic defense and military modernization. Having achieved this objective, the Army's mobility level will be upgraded to give greater regional capabilities, and the Navy will be capable of both a strong coastal defense and certain measures for blue water combat. The Air Force will be transformed from a fleet that can only provide homeland air defense to an aerial power capable of a combination of offensive and defensive operations, and the Second Artillery Corps, China's strategic missile troops, will become a truly efficient force with both nuclear and conventional striking power. The PLA once had 6,000,000 uniformed members. The most high-profile cut was conducted by late CMC Chairman Deng Xiaoping who made a surprising decision in 1985 to reduce ranks by 1,000,000, mostly from the army and military schools. After the latest cut in 2005, the PLA now has 2.3 million servicemen, although it remains the world's most populous armed force. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) could not have made these achievements without the several rounds of disarmament and internal reforms to optimize military resources and command systems since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949."