China’s increasingly powerful navy yesterday launched its most advanced domestically produced destroyer, at a time of rising competition with other naval powers such as the US, Japan and India.
The first 10,000-tonne Type 055 guided-missile destroyer entered the water at Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard in the morning, the navy said in a news release, adding that the ship is equipped with the latest air, missile, ship and submarine defense systems.
“The launch of this ship signifies that our nation’s development of destroyers has reached a new stage,” the release said.
Photo: Reuters
China is believed to be planning to launch four of the ships.
It said People’s Liberation Army Armaments Department Director General Zhang Youxia (張又俠) presided over the ceremony, in which a bottle of champagne was broken over the ship’s bow.
The Type 055 is significantly larger than China’s other modern destroyer, the Type 052, representing the rising sophistication of China’s defense industries. Once heavily dependent on foreign technology, China in April launched its first aircraft carrier built entirely on its own, based on an earlier Ukrainian model.
In terms of displacement, the new destroyer is approximately equivalent to the US’ Arleigh Burke class of destroyer.
China’s navy is undergoing an ambitious expansion and is projected to have a total of 265 to 273 warships, submarines and logistics vessels by 2020, according to the Washington-based Center for Naval Analysis.
That compares with 275 deployable battleforce ships presently in the US Navy, China’s primary rival in the Asia-Pacific region, although the once-yawning gap between the two is narrowing rapidly.
China says it needs a powerful navy to defend its 14,500km of coastline, as well as crucial maritime shipping routes.
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