A high-ranking Chinese Navy official confirmed this week that China plans to put aircraft carrier battle groups to sea. The news will rattle China's neighbors, particularly those with which it has territorial disputes, and could incite a naval arms race.

Speaking to the Chinese communist party-run Xinhua News, Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo said the carriers would "defend China's sovereignty of the islands and reefs, maritime rights and overseas ­interests." Zhuo is a member of the Expert Consultation Committee for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)—the official name of the Chinese navy.

China's first aircraft carrier, Liaoning , was commissioned in 2012. A former Soviet carrier, it was purchased by a Chinese businessman who envisioned turning it into a floating casino. The ship mysteriously passed into government hands, and starting in2000, it spent a dozen years being upgraded to modern standards. Liaoning currently functions as a training carrier, where members of the Navy are learning the complex world of carrier operations. She has a relatively small air wing of 24 Shenyang J-15 fighters, does not conduct patrols, and stays close to the Chinese mainland.

China confirmed in December of last year that it was building a second aircraft carrier. The second carrier, under construction in Dalian, will displace 50,000 tons—half that of a modern U.S. carrier—and have a ski-jump flight deck to assist takeoffs. The carrier will have more hangar space to accommodate more aircraft.

It's unknown how many carriers China will ultimately build. The general rule of thumb for carriers is that you need at least three to have one ready at any give time (one carrier in maintenance or overhaul, one ready for action, and one carrier transitioning between the two states). In emergencies that carrier could be readied for action, but the fact is that owning three carriers seldom means three carriers ready for war.

Given that thinking, China would need at least six carriers just to have two available at any one time. Even then its carriers would be substantially smaller than their American equivalents, with probably half the firepower. Then again, most of China's neighbors don't have any carriers at all.

Ultimately, a Chinese carrier battle group probably would look like an American carrier battle group, escorted by a half dozen or so cruisers, destroyers, frigates and submarines. One possible configuration would be two Kunming-class Type 052D air defense destroyers, three Zhou Shan-class Type 054A frigates for anti-submarine work, and a T ype 095 nuclear-powered attack submarine.

Among China's neighbors, only Japan has the economic might to respond by building its own carrier. Japan has been building progressively larger " helicopter destroyers "—carriers in name only—and has the technical know-how and industrial capacity to build them.

Via South China Morning Post

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