The PLA Navy’s ZHANLAN Training Series in 2021: Growing Emphasis on Joint Operations on the High Seas May 7, 2021 02:43 PM Age: 1 day Image: A naval formation underway during the 2021 ZHANLAN exercises with AOR-967, LPD-978, and AGI-857 visible (Source: China Military Online). Introduction As part of its broader effort to develop a distant seas capability, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) held an annual Southern Theater Command (STC) far seas training exercise from late January to late February 2021. This event is likely the 2021 iteration of the ZHANLAN (湛蓝) series of far seas training exercises, which the PLAN has conducted annually since at least 2016.