The hype over China’s military is reminiscent of Cold War fears about Russia. But the US shouldn’t overreact to a new Chinese aircraft carrier.
In 1966, Hollywood produced a Cold War comedy about a Russian submarine becoming stranded on the shoals of a small New England town. It was a good movie and it nicely captured the misplaced hysteria of the era about Soviet military intentions. It was called The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! I recommend you pick up a copy if you can.
Now get ready for the Chinese version: not a new movie, but a revived hysteria. China is about to put into operation its first aircraft carrier, rumoured to be called Shi Lang, after a 17th century admiral who conquered Taiwan. Previously known as the Varyag when it was under construction for the Soviet and later the Ukrainian navies, China acquired the uncompleted carrier in 1998 at auction for $20 million.
Lacking electronics and a propulsion system, the ship was reportedly purchased to serve as a floating casino in Macao, but after a nearly incredible saga of transport from Ukraine and around Africa, it ended up in Dalian in China’s northeast, where it was dry-docked and painted People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) gray. Subsequent activity presumably has involved installing the missing electronics and propulsion systems.
Officially, China was cagey about its intentions for the aircraft carrier. Chinese sources say that there was considerable debate internally over the risks and benefits of acquiring a single carrier or two. On the benefit side are the prestige and sense of having ‘arrived’ as a power. More practically, a test run with a carrier will give the PLAN a more precise estimate of the costs, training, and operational adjustments needed to deploy such a capability effectively, before deciding on additions. For some, the carrier will reduce the difficulties of defending extended Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.
As for the risks, some Chinese argued that carriers aren’t economically or strategically wise in an era of enhanced conventional threats against carrier battle groups. Moreover, a carrier battle group will reinforce suspicions among China’s neighbors of its hostile intent.
It’s now clear from gradually released official Chinese statements and news reports that the advocates of carriers won the debate, at least temporarily. Beijing has dribbled out hints that the carrier is coming, possibly out of concern for the reactions of its neighbours, including their own acquisitions for defense against a new perceived threat. It would be wise for Beijing to be cautious about over selling its development too, because of the formidable challenges learning to use carrier capabilities will pose to the PLAN.
Senior US naval officers and many of their colleagues in Asian navies regard the carrier as a manageable threat even if Beijing can learn how to deploy it. Indeed, some joke that they hope China will acquire five more battle groups and waste even more money that could go into other, more threatening systems. All say that they will watch China’s efforts at implementation this year closely.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Pacific Commander Adm. Robert Willard recently dismissed the impact of the carrier as largely ‘symbolic,’ but he added that ‘based on the feedback that we received from our partners and allies in the Pacific, I think the change in perception by the region will be significant.’
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Thanks for the effort you took to expand upon this post.
power shut the mouths
The best thing to deal with all this negative perception of china is to make china even stronger. Let her have billions of nuclear misslies, and thousand of aircraft carrier and mighty machines. These will shut the mouth. History has proven time and again, cowards and dogs only respect power and nothing more. No reasoning, no diplomacy, but almighty power and even jesus said so.
When china achieve super superiority in numbers in military hardware , then those who ever doubt her destruction power or challenge her power for she can destroy a thousand earth. Those small talk will be totally irrelevant and those ideas will be a dinosour best kept in the backburner, and will never be mentioned again.
Same things goes here, who care what other says and blasphemed with malicious intent, as along as we keep our house in order , as long as every chinamen become superrich.
For those who saw the sucessfull chinese could only seeth with hatred and anger, and licking thier wounds just like a wounded dogs. See, what happen to nations happen to people too.
Vincent Ang
The last time the Chinese displayed their naval might to the Southeast Asian rulers the latter fell over themselves trying to please the Chinese. For all the Philippine noise over the Spratlys, Chinese investments in the Philipines is turning a basket case into a model of economic growth. lastly, for all those Yankee patriots. Do you Yanks think your nation which is hocked to the hilt is in any real position to take on China? Once the Chines launch their carrier group ALL Sotheast Asian Nation including the Chinese hating rulers in Malaysia and Indonesia will be kissing Chinese butt.
As for those who question why a Chinese would have CHRISTIAN name such as John perhaps a dose of the Book would do these Yanks some good.
johnson
vincent ang, you are right and I thoroughly support you. Perhaps the theory of relative can be applied here. The relativity of power and power projections. China is as powerfull in relative to u.s. Obstacles remind in her way due to puppet politics and the allies of evil.