According to costs informationChina is building at least six more missile destroyers as part of its effort to establish a fleet capable of competing with that of the United States.
five of the According to images posted on Chinese social networking site Weibo, the hulls of the Type 052 Luyang III-class destroyer are currently under construction at the state-owned shipyard in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning province. .
According to the defense website Naval News, at least one additional Type 052 destroyer is being built at the Jiangnan Changxing shipyard, northeast of Shanghai.
The 25 Type 052 destroyers currently in the Chinese navy will be joined by the six destroyers, which are equipped with tactical cruise missiles and torpedoes.
The six Type 052 destroyers are not under construction, according to Beijing.
However, Chinese experts told the Community Party daily Global Times that given Beijing’s desire to modernize its military by 2035, “it’s no surprise that China is actually developing more sophisticated warships, especially with the current tumultuous global security environment.”
With the largest number of ship hulls in the world, China’s navy now holds the title of largest naval force.
The photo from 2017 shows a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 052D destroyer escorting the aircraft carrier Liaoning as it entered Hong Kong territorial waters via the Lamma Channel.
Compared to the 490 ships of the US Navy and the 73 ships of the British Royal Navy, the Chinese armed forces have a total of 777 warships. However, the United States has 92 destroyers in total, more than China (41) and six more than the United Kingdom.
The Type 052 destroyer, also known as the Luyang III class, has 64 vertical launch systems for surface-to-air missiles, a rocket-propelled torpedo and tactical cruise missiles, demonstrating the increasing complexity of ships Chinese war.
The Type 052D, which also has a 130mm main gun, is compared to the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers used by the US Navy.
The destroyers are part of China’s military buildup to prevent outside intervention in case Taiwan, the independent island that Beijing claims as its own and has threatened to conquer by force, is attacked.
The United States, which supplies Taiwan with defensive armaments and is constitutionally obligated to treat threats to the island as matters of “grave concern”, as well as its treaty allies, the largest and closest being Japan , would likely be involved in such a fight.
This follows US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to China last month, which prompted China to conduct its largest-ever military exercises near Taiwan. Beijing was furious with the trip because it saw it as an effort by the United States to meddle in China’s internal affairs.
China said in March it would increase defense spending by 7.1% this year, bringing the total to 1.45 trillion yuan ($211.62 billion), but many analysts believe that is not the case. not the actual amount; the government denies this allegation.
For more than a decade, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, has been upgrading itself into a more “blue” force, which can operate anywhere in the world instead of to be forced to stay close to the Chinese mainland.
Beijing unveiled the Type 003 aircraft carrier, a new generation of aircraft, in June, marking a milestone for the country as it is the first such ship to be both developed and built in China.
Beijing wants to transform its navy, which is currently the largest in the world, into a multi-carrier force. As such, it seeks to equip its fleet with the latest in weaponry and aircraft launch technology.
The Type 003 uses a catapult launch, which analysts say appears to be an electromagnetic type device similar to that first created by the US Navy.
Employing a catapult means the ship will be able to launch a wider variety of aircraft, which is important for China to project its naval force further away. Such a method places less strain on the aircraft than previous steam catapult launch systems.
China has maintained its military operations near Taiwan, but on a smaller scale.
Fujian officials announced a no-sailing zone on Wednesday and said live-fire drills would be held on Friday and Saturday in a coastal area of China’s Fujian province, just north of the small Taiwan-controlled Wuchiu Islands in the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan is trying to match China’s investment in advanced technologies, such as stealth fighters and aircraft carriers, by investing more effort in weapons such as missiles that can strike right into its territory. huge neighbor.
China has not ruled out using force to take control of the island. Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over the island are rejected by Taiwan, which argues that only the Taiwanese people have the power to make such decisions.
