China Flaunts Growing Naval Capabilities
By Willy Lam
The year 2009 is set to become a watershed in the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) development into a force capable of long-distance, multi-pronged power projection. This is despite the perception that owing to the global recession, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership under President Hu Jintao is preoccupied with its multi-billion dollar effort to resuscitate the economy and generate jobs. Even as three ultra-modern naval vessels (two destroyers and a supply ship) are steaming around the Gulf of Aden on an "anti-piracy mission," the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has indirectly admitted that the country is building aircraft carriers. Various PLA officers have waxed eloquent on the imperative of enhancing the forces’ “combat-readiness”—and their ability to win high-tech warfare. Moreover, a gargantuan military parade is being planned for October 1, when Beijing will mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (Yangtze Evening Post [Nanjing], January 4).
By Willy Lam
The year 2009 is set to become a watershed in the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) development into a force capable of long-distance, multi-pronged power projection. This is despite the perception that owing to the global recession, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership under President Hu Jintao is preoccupied with its multi-billion dollar effort to resuscitate the economy and generate jobs. Even as three ultra-modern naval vessels (two destroyers and a supply ship) are steaming around the Gulf of Aden on an "anti-piracy mission," the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has indirectly admitted that the country is building aircraft carriers. Various PLA officers have waxed eloquent on the imperative of enhancing the forces’ “combat-readiness”—and their ability to win high-tech warfare. Moreover, a gargantuan military parade is being planned for October 1, when Beijing will mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (Yangtze Evening Post [Nanjing], January 4).
