Geopolitics of Big Boats. Chinese Navy vs …? China’s powerful navy has a challenge on its hands –persuading others it is to be used for peace

Under Xi Jinping’s stewardship, China has overhauled the navy and overtaken the US in the number of vessels launched yearly. But instead of focusing on the goal of building an invincible armada, China should convince the world of its peaceful intentions

Cary Huang

05/01/2019

Chinese President Xi Jinping may or may not have heard of American historian Alfred Thayer Mahan.

But he must be more than familiar with Mahan’s ideas about sea power, which have influenced world leaders from American president Theodore Roosevelt to German emperor Wilhelm II, and shaped naval doctrine in Europe and Asia. Mahan published a seminal work in 1890, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783, and its key message is that sea power ensures commercial, political and military access to vital regions.

China declared its intention of becoming a maritime power.
at the 18th Communist Party congress in 2012, when Xi took over the party. Xi, also commander in chief of the People’s Liberation Army, has since prioritised modernising the navy to equal the naval strength of the United States.

Image result for china destroyers images

In the eastern coastal city of Qingdao last Tuesday, a parade that marked the 70th anniversary of the Chinese navy also showcased just how much the Chinese have advanced in such a short time. Since 2014, the Chinese navy has launched more submarines, warships, principal amphibious vessels and auxiliaries than the total number of ships currently serving in the Taiwanese, German, Indian, Spanish and British navies, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Under Xi’s stewardship, China has also overtaken the US in both the number and total tonnage of vessels launched yearly.

The Chinese fleet, of 300 vessels, is now one of the world’s largest. The US naval fleet of 490 vessels remains superior in quality, though only 287 of the ships are deployable.

China will have at least 6 air-carrier battle groups by 2035, which might pose the most serious Asian challenge to the dominance of US carrier strike groups since the sinking of the Imperial Japanese warship Shinano in 1944.

China’s rapid naval build-up arms the country with both a spear to fight in areas far from its shores, and a shield to repel outside powers.

How China’s display of military power promotes peace

Not only is the Chinese navy capable of challenging American military dominance in the region, its fleet is also capable of projecting power from the Indo-Pacific to the Persian Gulf, the broader Atlantic and Latin America.

The Chinese navy maintains a generally positive image in faraway regions where Beijing has growing economic interests but no outstanding territorial disputes or conflict of geopolitical interests.

However, China’s fast-growing naval clout has drawn mixed reactions in the Asia-Pacific region, where China has persistent territorial and sovereignty disputes with its neighbours.

As its naval presence increases, it will be a challenge for China to manage other countries’ perceptions of its growing military assertiveness and the potential for conflict with other military powers.

The US has frequently dispatched warships to the South and East China seas to challenge the Chinese military, and the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan all have competing claims in the region. The US has also ramped up the frequency of warship transits through the Taiwan Strait, from once a year to once a month since the beginning of this year, to counter China’s military intimidation of the democratic, self-ruled island.

Can Taiwan realistically resist China’s wish for unification?

But this is precisely why Xi sent a message about China’s peaceful rise when he addressed naval delegates from 61 countries at the naval parade in Qingdao.

China requires a modernised naval fleet to safeguard its 18,000km coastline and its global interests. Because it is the world’s largest merchandise exporter, China needs freedom and safety of navigation more than any country in the world.

Thus, instead of focusing on developing an invincible Chinese armada, China should do more to convince the world it is not another imperial Japan or Germany. Rather, it is just seeking its own place in the sun.

Cary Huang is a veteran China affairs columnist, having written on this topic since the early 1990s

Source :

South China Morning Post