Posted by guest writer and author, James Marinero.
Is It The First Step On Another Long March?
China’s first aircraft carrier was bought in 1998 for $20m in an auction. She started life as an ‘Admiral Kuznetsov’ class aircraft carrier, with building starting in the mid 1980s. As the USSR collapsed, and by the time she was sold to a ‘front’ Chinese company, she had been stripped almost bare, and carried the name ‘Varyag’. Over the next decade, China refitted her in the Dalian Shipyard.
Early August 2011 saw her first open-sea trials, carrying the name ‘Shi Lang’ (East Wind).
A few commentators doubted that China would complete the project, but those who know the Chinese mentality know that the huge country wants to surpass the United States economically, politically and militarily, and have been driving hard to build their strengths in all these aspects.
China's first aircraft carrier...
Carriers for modern high performance fighter bombers need an order of magnitude greater sophistication and systems integration than do Harrier carriers. That’s why some people have doubted China’s intent.
The Chinese commitment to joining the aircraft carrier club demands huge investment – the US has been building carriers for nearly a century, and the industrial capability to construct 50,000 ton carriers takes a generation and more to develop. The Chinese are leap-frogging – with a bare-bones carrier they can learn the fitting-out stage and replicate it, just as they have done with so many industries – trucks, trains, planes, consumer electronics. Ships hulls are not difficult to build (if not nuclear powered), and they did buy a set of plans with the Varyag.
Those who have been watching developments in China have known for some time that China was serious about this investment. There have been plenty of jokes about the Concrete Carrier they built in Shanghai, but the fact is that building a carrier is one thing, operating one efficiently 24 x 7 in all weathers when under attack is quite another. The pilots, aircrew and flight operations controllers have to be trained. Schools and lecturers are needed. But first you have to train the teachers. A whole logistics infrastructure has to be created. It really is a huge task, and China is not flinching.
China already has the Dong Feng 21-D carrier-busting ballistic missile, and now it has a carrier. China plays a long game, with strategic planning which may look a century ahead.
Shi Lang – The Taiwan Link
The Ming-Qing dynasty admiral, Shi Lang, invaded Tungking (now known as Taiwan) 300 years ago. Will the new carrier’s name prove to be apocryphal?
It is clear that naval tensions in the Far East are intensifying, and with the ongoing dispute with Japan and Taiwan over island chains in the South China Sea such as the Spratley Islands, further announcements are expected.
James Marinero writes topical thrillers with international political and espionage themes. Widely travelled, having worked in many countries, he smoothly blends fact, fiction and forecasts in his stories. ‘Gate of Tears’ looks at China’s naval growth and territorial ambitions.
