China's first aircraft carrier has embarked on sea trials, in a potent demonstration of the growing naval power that is creating pride at home – and concern elsewhere in the region.
While China says it will only ever use naval power for defensive purposes, others say it is increasingly aggressive in pursuing its claims. Hours after the trials began, Taiwan pointedly unveiled its most advanced missile, hailing it as "an aircraft carrier killer".
The refitting of the former Soviet vessel is part of China's broader naval modernisation programme – which includes heavy spending on submarines and the development of an anti-ship missile system – and comes amid growing competition with the US and India, and a string of maritime disputes with closer neighbours.
"This is showing to the whole world that China's maritime mobility is expanding drastically. This is showing that China is in the process of acquiring capability to control the South China Sea as well as the East China Sea," Yoshihiko Yamada, a professor at Japan's Tokai University, told Reuters.
In the past year China has had seen a series of territorial spats with Japan over islets in the East China Sea; and with the Philippines, Vietnam and others over the South China Sea, the location of essential shipping lanes and important natural resources including oil and gas. Those disputes are complicated by underlying competition with the US and India.
"By itself, the ship does not erode the credibility of America's military presence in the region nor greatly increase China's power projection capabilities. Nevertheless, the vessel is a potent symbol of China's aspirations to become a global maritime power and is yet another indication that the military balance of power is gradually shifting in China's favour," said Dr Ian Storey, of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
Last week, Japan's annual defence report said the Chinese navy were likely to increase activities around Japan and warned that China had acted "in a way seen as coercive" in conflicts. Beijing responded by accusing Tokyo of irresponsible exaggeration. The test is a small step in the long journey towards building a viable carrier group, but it is already stoking unease in India, and prompting fears of an arms race between Asia's two emerging powers.
The Indian Ocean is fast becoming a zone of contested influence between Beijing and Delhi. Indian strategists have been particularly worried by a string of ports constructed with Chinese assistance in Burma, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
"The carrier will add a new dimension to the burgeoning Chinese navy which could provide a major challenge to India in its backyard, the Indian Ocean," the Times of India commented on Wednesday.
Despite a £10bn modernisation programme, much of the Indian armed forces' on equipment is outdated, and efforts to build or buy aircraft carriers have been hampered by political wrangling and red tape.
The Indian navy has a small 50-year old 28,000-tonne carrier, which it bought from the UK in 1987, but it aims to have at least two aircraft carrier battle groups in operation by 2015.
The ongoing refit of the 44,570-tonne Admiral Gorshkov, purchased from Russia in 2005, and the construction in India of a new 40,000-tonne carrier are expected to be completed in the coming three to four years."We are definitely looking at deploying two aircraft carriers by the middle of this decade,'' assistant chief of naval staff (foreign cooperation and intelligence) Rear Admiral Anil Chawla said earlier this year.
Defence analyst Ajaj Shukla said that India retains the lead in naval aviation, but that there was a clear fear of "the projection of Chinese power into the northern Indian Ocean in a new way".
"The Chinese are at an earlier stage but once they set their minds to operating a naval air arm they will catch up pretty fast so it is being carefully watched," he said.
The People's Liberation Army Navy has also expanded its reach substantially in recent years – notably participating in international efforts to tackle Somalian pirates and more recently using a warship to support the evacuation of 35,000 Chinese citizens from Libya.
"[The trial's] symbolic significance outweighs its practical significance," Ni Lexiong, an expert on Chinese maritime policy at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said.
"We're already a maritime power, and so we need an appropriate force, whether that's aircraft carriers or battleships, just like the United States or the British empire did."
China has spent almost a decade refitting the vessel, which was towed from the Ukraine in 1998 – without engines, weapons systems or other such equipment – although the defence ministry did not formally acknowledge the project until a month ago.
The 300m-long vessel sounded its horn three times as it left its shipyard in Dalian, in north-east Liaoning province, amid thick fog, according to the state news agency.
The trial is expected to last a few days and Xinhua said tests and refurbishment would continue when the ship returned.
China has said it will use the carrier for research and training. It is believed to be building two carriers itself and experts think it wants up to four in all.
In an interview published in the China Economic Weekly, Chinese navy Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo said that China planned to build a "very strong battle group" but warned it would be a long and difficult task.
"The construction and functional demands of an aircraft carrier are extremely complex," he said.
Ashley Townshend at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney told Reuters that China would require three carriers for a viable strike group, as well as support ships and aircraft, and predicted it would take around a decade to develop.
"Many countries have, or are, investing in anti-ship missiles and attack submarines which make large, poorly defended warships such as the Varyag highly vulnerable," pointed out Storey.
"US military officers are very dismissive of the Varyag's operational capabilities, but are much more concerned about the development of China's own anti-ship ballistic missiles, which are designed to target US aircraft carriers."
China's official military budget has more than doubled since 2006, from 298bn yuan to 601bn yuan this year, although it is still dwarfed by that of the US. Thailand, Brazil and India each have a carrier, while the US has eleven. China is the only permanent member of the UN security council without one.
by Tania Branigan and Jason Burke
taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/10/china-aircraft-carrier-launch
While China says it will only ever use naval power for defensive purposes, others say it is increasingly aggressive in pursuing its claims. Hours after the trials began, Taiwan pointedly unveiled its most advanced missile, hailing it as "an aircraft carrier killer".
The refitting of the former Soviet vessel is part of China's broader naval modernisation programme – which includes heavy spending on submarines and the development of an anti-ship missile system – and comes amid growing competition with the US and India, and a string of maritime disputes with closer neighbours.
"This is showing to the whole world that China's maritime mobility is expanding drastically. This is showing that China is in the process of acquiring capability to control the South China Sea as well as the East China Sea," Yoshihiko Yamada, a professor at Japan's Tokai University, told Reuters.
In the past year China has had seen a series of territorial spats with Japan over islets in the East China Sea; and with the Philippines, Vietnam and others over the South China Sea, the location of essential shipping lanes and important natural resources including oil and gas. Those disputes are complicated by underlying competition with the US and India.
"By itself, the ship does not erode the credibility of America's military presence in the region nor greatly increase China's power projection capabilities. Nevertheless, the vessel is a potent symbol of China's aspirations to become a global maritime power and is yet another indication that the military balance of power is gradually shifting in China's favour," said Dr Ian Storey, of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
Last week, Japan's annual defence report said the Chinese navy were likely to increase activities around Japan and warned that China had acted "in a way seen as coercive" in conflicts. Beijing responded by accusing Tokyo of irresponsible exaggeration. The test is a small step in the long journey towards building a viable carrier group, but it is already stoking unease in India, and prompting fears of an arms race between Asia's two emerging powers.
The Indian Ocean is fast becoming a zone of contested influence between Beijing and Delhi. Indian strategists have been particularly worried by a string of ports constructed with Chinese assistance in Burma, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
"The carrier will add a new dimension to the burgeoning Chinese navy which could provide a major challenge to India in its backyard, the Indian Ocean," the Times of India commented on Wednesday.
Despite a £10bn modernisation programme, much of the Indian armed forces' on equipment is outdated, and efforts to build or buy aircraft carriers have been hampered by political wrangling and red tape.
The Indian navy has a small 50-year old 28,000-tonne carrier, which it bought from the UK in 1987, but it aims to have at least two aircraft carrier battle groups in operation by 2015.
The ongoing refit of the 44,570-tonne Admiral Gorshkov, purchased from Russia in 2005, and the construction in India of a new 40,000-tonne carrier are expected to be completed in the coming three to four years."We are definitely looking at deploying two aircraft carriers by the middle of this decade,'' assistant chief of naval staff (foreign cooperation and intelligence) Rear Admiral Anil Chawla said earlier this year.
Defence analyst Ajaj Shukla said that India retains the lead in naval aviation, but that there was a clear fear of "the projection of Chinese power into the northern Indian Ocean in a new way".
"The Chinese are at an earlier stage but once they set their minds to operating a naval air arm they will catch up pretty fast so it is being carefully watched," he said.
The People's Liberation Army Navy has also expanded its reach substantially in recent years – notably participating in international efforts to tackle Somalian pirates and more recently using a warship to support the evacuation of 35,000 Chinese citizens from Libya.
"[The trial's] symbolic significance outweighs its practical significance," Ni Lexiong, an expert on Chinese maritime policy at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said.
"We're already a maritime power, and so we need an appropriate force, whether that's aircraft carriers or battleships, just like the United States or the British empire did."
China has spent almost a decade refitting the vessel, which was towed from the Ukraine in 1998 – without engines, weapons systems or other such equipment – although the defence ministry did not formally acknowledge the project until a month ago.
The 300m-long vessel sounded its horn three times as it left its shipyard in Dalian, in north-east Liaoning province, amid thick fog, according to the state news agency.
The trial is expected to last a few days and Xinhua said tests and refurbishment would continue when the ship returned.
China has said it will use the carrier for research and training. It is believed to be building two carriers itself and experts think it wants up to four in all.
In an interview published in the China Economic Weekly, Chinese navy Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo said that China planned to build a "very strong battle group" but warned it would be a long and difficult task.
"The construction and functional demands of an aircraft carrier are extremely complex," he said.
Ashley Townshend at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney told Reuters that China would require three carriers for a viable strike group, as well as support ships and aircraft, and predicted it would take around a decade to develop.
"Many countries have, or are, investing in anti-ship missiles and attack submarines which make large, poorly defended warships such as the Varyag highly vulnerable," pointed out Storey.
"US military officers are very dismissive of the Varyag's operational capabilities, but are much more concerned about the development of China's own anti-ship ballistic missiles, which are designed to target US aircraft carriers."
China's official military budget has more than doubled since 2006, from 298bn yuan to 601bn yuan this year, although it is still dwarfed by that of the US. Thailand, Brazil and India each have a carrier, while the US has eleven. China is the only permanent member of the UN security council without one.
by Tania Branigan and Jason Burke
taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/10/china-aircraft-carrier-launch
No comments:
Post a Comment