Due to help from many other countries, China's military power has leapfrogged in recent years without showing any sign of slowing down, military analysts and sources said yesterday.
The Chinese military has made great progress, especially in the building of fighting ships, they said, thanks to Russia and an Asian country. It has also developed several new fighter planes, with Israel being one of the contributors to that effort.
Chang Li-teh (
"Within a few years, China has already built several new fighting ships. Two more are under construction in Shanghai. They are comparable to the US' AEGIS destroyers," Chang said.
"The Chinese AEGIS-type ships boast phased-array radar as well as long-range air defense missiles and anti-surface missiles. They are expected to become operational in a few years. By that time, they will be a big threat to Taiwan," he said.
China obtained the phased-array radar technology from Russia and advanced shipbuilding technology from an Asian country, a defense source said.
"That Asian country is friendly to Taiwan as well. But it has its own strategic concerns while transferring shipbuilding technology to China," the source said.
Chen Hsiao-ming (陳曉明), a former engineer with state-run China Shipbuilding Corp, said it is a pity that while China is making rapid progress in shipbuilding, Taiwan has ceased to advance.
The Chenkung-class frigates were the last ships that Taiwan built on its own and that was 10 years ago. They were based on the US' Perry-class ships.
Chen, who was involved in the building of the Chenkung-class ships, predicts China's AEGIS-like ships will be go into service next year and that the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait might be lost by then.
"China's rapid progress in shipbuilding is due to a lot to help from other countries. Russia and some European countries are the helping hands," Chen said.
The navy is scheduled to take delivery of the first of four Kidd-class destroyers bought from the US next year, but the Kidds are outdated ships.
The Chinese military has also impressed the international community with its development of several new fighter jets, the most noteworthy of which is the Jian-10. The Jian-10 boasts semi-stealth capabilities and advanced design comparable to several Western fighters such as Israel's Lavi, which never went into production in that country.
An air force general, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the military is closely watching the development of Jian-10.
"The Jian-10 does have semi-stealth capabilities partly because of its design and partly because of its composite material. It will be a great threat to us sooner or later," the general said.
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