The Rise Of China's Navy Forces A US Navy Think

China's Carrier Forces US Navy Rethink -- Sukjoon Yoon, Asia Times

The acquisition of an aircraft carrier is the foundation and ultimate symbol of a navy's blue-water strategy. There is no more important reality for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as it starts operating its first carrier. The full ramifications of the PLAN's ambitious acquisition of naval air power are as yet uncertain. The ultimate outcome depends upon maintaining a balance between a variety of contradictory postures and strategies.

Two forces have driven the acquisition of China's first aircraft carrier: (i) the ambition of the late Admiral Liu Hwaqing (known as China's equivalent of the US naval strategist Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan). As the first PLAN officer to visit a US aircraft carrier, Liu played a crucial role in promoting the PLAN's interests; and (ii) the concern of the Chinese leadership that their country's status as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council could be undermined by the lack of an aircraft carrier. According to this view, possession of an aircraft carrier and its associated air wing are the pre-eminent manifestation of great power status.

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My Comment: It's hard to do a "rethink" when your budget is about to be cut drastically.