China's Growing Navy Is Starting To Worry It's Neighbors And The U.S.

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US and Chinese Naval Forces in the West Pacific Current points of conflict in the area. Der Spiegel

Power in the Pacific: Stronger Chinese Navy Worries Neighbors and US -- Bernhard Zand, Spiegel Online

China and the US seem to be on a collision course in the Pacific. Beijing is significantly bolstering its navy, and Washington is shifting its military focus to the Asia-Pacific Region. Many fear it could alter the balance of power in a region rich in oil and crucial for global trade.

The best view of China's new flagship, which inspires fear in its enemies, could recently be had from a window on the fourth floor of an IKEA store in Dalian, a port city in northeastern China. Here, someone had scratched out a viewing hole in the opaque film masking the window, providing a view of the pier across the way -- and of the Varyag.

This ship, whose keel was originally built by the Soviets, is now being put into service by the China's People's Liberation Army Navy. Shipyard employees spent years working on the colossal ship, drilling and welding. Then the Varyag disappeared a total of 10 times for sea trials, leaving geostrategists and naval experts from Tokyo to Washington endlessly speculating about where the ship might be at any given moment and with what kinds of weapons and airplanes China would decide to outfit it.

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My Comment: China still has a long way to go before it can match U.S. naval power .... but they are on that road to match it in the Asian theater. As for China's neighbors .... they are now realizing that they will be forced to raise their defense budgets, and to form (or strengthen) military alliances .... hence U.S. Defense Secretary Panetta's visit in the region right now.