China’s global Navy eyeing sea control by 2030, superiority by 2049
Captain James E. Fanell (Retd)
Published : June 13, 2020, 8:54 pm | Updated : June 14, 2020, 2:13 PM
Visitors hold their mobile phones in front of exhibits showing People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning, during an exhibition on China’s achievements marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at the Beijing Exhibition Center, in Beijing, China on 24 September 2019. REUTERS
I assess that the PLA Navy by 2030 will consist of a surface force of over 450 ships and a submarine force approaching 110 submarines, an almost 10% increase from my 2015 estimate. It may still be a low estimate.
In June 2018, I stood aboard the fantail of the PLA Navy guided missile frigate Binzhou in port Kiel, Germany—it was never clearer to me than at that moment that Beijing has the national will to dominate the seas.
Binzhou had been at sea for two and a half months, patrolling the waters of the Gulf of Aden, as part of China’s anti-piracy naval task force. Moored among German, British and United States warships, Binzhou stood out with its immaculate appearance. Staff, ship’s officers and crew exuded confidence and preparedness to get underway…to sea where they looked like they belonged. This contrasted sharply with my recollections from a 2004 visit aboard the destroyer Luhu in Qingdao, as well as many subsequent visits aboard Chinese warships over the course of the next 15 years.
https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/chinas-global-navy-eyeing-sea-control-2030-superiority-2049
