Sailors and marines in the National Day parade Thursday impressed the audience on Tian'anmen Square and nationwide with the country's growing ability to guard its coast and territorial waters.

Formations of cadets, sailors and marines represented the progress the country had made in building a multi-dimensional naval defense capable of diversified missions.

Aged 18 on average, the sailors from the Navy Submarine Academy formed the youngest military formation in the parade.

When the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy established a submarine unit in 1954, the only two submarines it had were given by the Soviet Union.

Today the country's submarine fleet is made up of both conventionally-powered and nuclear submarines with their combat capabilities being substantially upgraded.

In a grand offshore fleet review in April to mark the PLA Navy's 60th anniversary, two homebred nuclear submarines, the Long March 6 and the Long March 3, made their maiden show. Also on show were two conventionally-powered ones, the Great Wall 218 and the Great Wall 177.

The cadets' phalanx was made up of naval cadets from the Dalian Naval Surface Warship Academy. Founded in November 1949, the academy is regarded as the cradle of the country' s navy officers.

About 40,000 officers have graduated from the academy over the past 60 years, of whom 180 have become admirals and 1,200 become captains of warships.

The marine corps, in the third naval formation in the parade, is one of the youngest services in the Navy. Founded in 1979, the crops made its debut in the National Day parade in 1999, signaling the Navy' s breakthrough in land warfare.

(Xinhua News Agency October 1, 2009)