China's Navy expansion "no threat to others"

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BEIJING (Reuters) - China's plans to add aircraft carriers to its fleet and an historic long-distance mission by its navy are aimed only at protecting the country and its trade interests, senior officials were quoted as saying on Monday.

A long coastline, and high dependence on seaborne trade, meant China needed to have a strong presence at sea, but its growing confidence should not be misread as a "China threat", the Navy's deputy chief of staff told the official China Daily.

"Even when the navy has its aircraft carriers one day, our national defence strategy will remain purely defensive," Major General Zhang Deshun told the paper in a story splashed across its front page.

Beijing has been keen to emphasise its case that its growing economic and political might is not a threat to other nations, even downgrading a doctrine of "peaceful rise" to "peaceful development" over worries the former might sound aggressive.

But long-term plans to add an aircraft carrier to its fleet, and the unprecedented deployment of its navy to fight pirates in waters off Somalia late last year have sparked discussion in the West about Beijing's ultimate goals.

Zhang said any worries were misplaced.

Aircraft carriers are "strategically very common" for big countries with long coastlines and the "historic" mission to join an anti-piracy campaign in the waters off Somalia was no different from those of other nations, he added.

"China is doing exactly what other countries are doing, sending ships there: To protect national interests," the English-language report quoted Zhang saying.
However, in a sign of how a stronger fleet might affect the regional balance of power, Zhang said China was keen to resolve disputes through negotiation, but stressed its forces were capable of protecting its maritime territory.

There are several disputed islets in waters near China, potentially key to seabed deposits of oil and gas.

China, Japan and Taiwan all lay claim to the Diaoyu islands, known as the Senkakus in Japanese and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan. Further south, the Spratley islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The vulnerability of China's supply lines for vital commodities like oil, and shipments from its thousands of factories, was mentioned as a key concern by academics and officials interviewed by the China Daily.

A stronger navy was needed to protect increasing shipments on the open seas, the China Daily quoted Rear Admiral Yang Yi saying. He also said the navy would always be a peaceful force committed to regional security.

China's Navy expansion no threat to others - paper | World | Reuters

 

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The United States is watching but not worried about China's ambition to float an aircraft carrier, a complex undertaking that Beijing will find far harder than it thinks, the top U.S. admiral for the Pacific said on Monday.

"We are interested in it, but not concerned," Admiral Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said during a visit to Vietnam.

On Monday, a Chinese newspaper quoted a senior naval officer as saying the addition of aircraft carriers would not change China's "purely defensive" military strategy.

Defence analysts have speculated for years that Beijing planned to develop aircraft carriers for its growing and quickly modernising fleet, but Chinese government and military officials have generally been coy about it.

Willard, whose naval career of more than 30 years has including flying F-14s from the deck of carriers and commanding them, said developing an aircraft carrier force was "very daunting, requiring a great deal of resource, time and commitment".

"It will be much harder than they think," he told reporters.

Beijing has been keen to emphasise its case that its growing economic and political might is not a threat to other nations, even downgrading a doctrine of "peaceful rise" to "peaceful development" over worries the former might sound aggressive.
But its long-term aircraft carrier plans and the unprecedented deployment recently of ships to fight pirates in waters off Somalia late last year have sparked discussion about Beijing's ultimate goals.

PURELY DEFENSIVE

A long coastline and a dependence on seaborne trade meant China needed to have a strong presence at sea, but its growing confidence should not be misread as a "China threat", the Chinese Navy's deputy chief of staff told the official China Daily.

"Even when the navy has its aircraft carriers one day, our national defence strategy will remain purely defensive," Major General Zhang Deshun told the paper in a story splashed across its front page on Monday.

Zhang said any worries were misplaced. Aircraft carriers are "strategically very common" for big countries with long coastlines and the "historic" mission to join an anti-piracy campaign in the waters off Somalia was no different from those of other nations, he added.

Willard said the United States had "paid very close attention" to China's military advancements in recent years, and said a better understanding would help keep the region stable.

"To the extent that we understand the PRC and their military and their long-term intentions, and to the extent that the regional nations understand equally their sizable neighbour, I think it will go a long way toward contributing to the security and safety long term throughout this region," he said.

"It is our great desire ... that the Chinese navy and armed forces contribute constructively to the overall security situation" in the region, he said. The United States would welcome a strong Chinese military that did so, he added.

China has a handful of maritime disputes with its neighbours, including over potential seabed deposits of oil and gas. Beijing has also said that it would use force if necessary to prevent Taiwan from declaring independence. (Additional reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison in BEIJING; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
UPDATE 1-U.S. watching, not worried about China carrier-admiral | Reuters

 

[nomi007]

every nation have right to make its defense strong