China’s Blue-Water Ambitions

Plans for power projection beyond first island chain proceed apace

By: Andy Wong Ming Jun

China’s newest aircraft carrier, the Type 003 Fujian, recently completed its third successful sea trial on July 29. Given recent heightened naval and overall military activity as well as posturing with its two allies Russia and North Korea, all signs indicate that China’s plans for sustained naval power projection beyond the First Island Chain in the near future are proceeding as planned if not becoming increasingly focused.

The latest activity, some of which involves high-profile exercising of its nascent carrier force, is part of a naval buildup initiated by President Xi Jinping. According to a June report published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the nature of the buildup, particularly in terms of naval capability and force strength, is western militaries to reassess China’s potential to match and surpass US naval power in particular at a faster than anticipated pace.

China now possesses the world’s largest navy, operating 234 warships larger than 1,000 tonnes in contrast to the US Navy’s 219. While the US continues to hold a qualitative edge on an individual ship-to-ship basis, that gap is rapidly closing not least because China is massively outpacing the US in new ship construction, having launched twice as many destroyers and eight times as many cruisers in the past decade…