THE

CHINESE NAVY
TODAY
 CHINA now has the largest operational navy in the world, as
President Xi Jinping strives to achieve superpower status by
driving forward a military investment programme that only
the United States and Russia can compete with. Moscow
continues in its attempt to forge a military alliance with
Beijing, but historical experiences of being economically
subordinate to the then Soviet regime during the 1980s
for raw materials is unlikely to see the People’s Communist
Party accept anything more than a loose alliance with Putin.

China now has the largest navy in the
world – although the US fleet has the most
aircraft carriers. Picture DPL
S
ince the Tiananmen Square protests
in 1989, when Chinese students
called for political reform, which
resulted in a massacre in which hundreds
died, Beijing has done little to shed its
‘dictatorial and bullying reputation’. In
2020, President Xi Jinping’s administration
approved a new law ensuring that only
people it deems ‘patriots can govern the
former British colony of Hong Kong’
and clamped down on any form of anti-
government protest. The new security
law introduced in 2020, caused concern
across Hong Kong amid fears that it would
impact all areas of life. China has also
closed down internet sites they do not
approve of. In early 2021, Hong Kong’s
internet service provider confirmed
that they had blocked access to a pro-
democracy website that documented
incidents that took place during the 2019
pro-democracy protests. Social media
users in Hong Kong reported that the
website of Taiwan’s Transitional Justice
Commission, an independent government
agency, had also become inaccessible
within Hong Kong – highlighting China’s
fears of free and democratic Hong Kong.
Growth in maritime force is central to
Beijing’s bold economic ambitions and
the ‘Rise of the Dragon’ is growing at a
pace. Access to global oceans is critical to
Beijing’s economic strategy alongside an
expanding navy which is increasingly seen
as adopting an aggressive and intimidating
position towards its neighbours. In just
over four decades, the navy, officially
known as the People’s Liberation Army
Navy (PLAN), has developed a strong
blue-water fleet of frigates, destroyers,
submarines and carriers as it strives to
be the pre-eminent military power in the
world. China is attempting to spread its
political agenda and aiming to expand
its capability with plans for new overseas
7 CHINA’S NAVY TODAY | WAR AT SEA
bases to provide naval support facilities for
Chinese naval power beyond the Pacific.
This huge investment comes as the
communist party seeks to project control
across the Pacific and beyond to dominate
maritime trade and secure its future
economy, using its naval power. Beijing
has appeared to embark on a programme
of ‘peaceful’ expansion while adopting
an aggressive posture to western nations.
This policy has fuelled tension across the
Far East and with the United States and
its allies – with Beijing sending a clear
message that if needed it will use military
force to meet its political objectives.
Beijing’s hostility has undermined stability
in the region. The government wants to
reunify the island of Taiwan to mainland
China and sees the island as a breakaway
province – warning that it does not
rule out an invasion. It holds frequent
naval exercises to remind the island’s
administration of its power and has
warned allies of Taiwan that they should
stand back. Washington openly supports
the government in Taipei, although it
is unclear if it will go to war to protect
Taiwan. The United States, under the new
Biden administration, is also seeking to
build diplomatic relations with Beijing,
which were strained during the Trump
period of office. But Beijing appears
oblivious to its threatening political and
military approach that many observers
claim is isolating China.
Since the early 1980s, the People’s
Republic of China has been going
through a process of tremendous social
and economic transformation which has
emerged after the so-called ‘period of
self-reliance’ from 1949-1979. The People’s
Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) was
created in April 1949, just months before
the formation of the People’s Republic of
China. During the 1950s, the country ➽
 CHAPTER 1

Top: Chinese J-8, this

is the actual aircraft that
collided with the US Navy
surveillance plane. DPL

Centre: The damaged EP-3

on the ground at Hainan
island. DPL

Bottom: The released crew

of the US Navy EP-3. DPL

WAR AT SEA | CHINA’S NAVY TODAY 16

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