|
|
《澳洲人报》 The Australian
APRIL 27,2010 12:00AM
by Michael Sainsbury, China correspondent
Beijing bolsters navy with eye on Pacific
CHINA'S navy is modernising and expanding much more rapidly than expected, as Beijing seeks to extend its influence in the South China Sea deep into the Pacific, according to US military officials and analysts.
Adopting a new doctrine it calls "far sea defence", China is building up its fleet of nuclear submarines and has confirmed after more than a decade of planning that it will build aircraft carriers. They will provide a long-range punch that will challenge the US Navy's regional dominance.
The newly revealed extent of Beijing's naval buildup reflects the concerns expressed privately by Kevin Rudd last year when his government released its defence white paper.
The white paper startled many in the region by suggesting a need for a potent navy to deal with a possible threat from a heavily armed China.
At the heart of a rearmed ADF would be a powerful submarine force with the range and hitting power to fire missiles deep into China.The white paper warned that Australia needed to massively bolster its military capacity to deal with potential threats posed by both China's rise and the possible decline of American influence in the region.
The Chinese military wants to extend its naval power well beyond the nation's coastline to cover from the Middle-East oil ports to the shipping lanes of the Pacific, long considered a US domain.
A key Chinese supply line is the route used by its giant ore, coal and natural gas carriers heading home from Australia.
A senior US admiral has suggested that those supplies were so crucial to China's economy that they could eventually be escorted to Australia by Beijing's submarines.
China's plans for a blue water, or deep sea, navy have been in train since its former naval chief, Admiral Liu Huaqing, began designing it in 1985.
China's navy is already playing a key role defending international merchant shipping against Somali pirates.
It has long been considered that the first stage of China's naval expansion was designed to make it much too costly for the US to consider intervening in any conflict with Taiwan.
But rapidly warming relations with Taiwan have allowed China to look beyond the South China Sea into what it terms the "second island chain" out in the Pacific.
Song Xiaojun, a former Chinese navy officer turned military affairs commentator, told The Australian China must have the military means to deal with the possibility of the US turning Beijing's domestic problems into an international conflict and making trouble in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea or other areas near China,
"It's defensive, not offensive but it is true that China's military moves may cause concern among neighbour countries and Asia Pacific region, including Australia, Japan and South Korea," he said. |
Australian, eye, navy, The, 澳洲人, Australian, eye, navy, The, 澳洲人, Australian, eye, navy, The, 澳洲人
评分
-
1
查看全部评分
-
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2010-4-28 02:42
提升卡
变色卡
抢沙发
千斤顶
显身卡
楼主
