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| Chinese Air Craft Carrier Liaoning-CV16 ( Image credits- Internet Pic) |
Source- Want China Times
In response to a New York Times pieces by Gregg Easterbrook on March 9, China's nationalist tabloid the Global Times, wrote a commentary of its own, saying that China is capable of defeating the US Navy in the Western Pacific with anti-ship missiles built at low prices.
In Easterbrook's article, he said that China currently possesses only one outdated, conventionally-powered aircraft carrier and is rumored to be constructing two others. However, neither of those two vessels are likely to be nuclear supercarriers according to the author. Also, Easterbrook questions whether those two domestic carriers have "blue water" or open ocean-going capabilities.
He said that the US Navy is more powerful than all other navies in the world combined in terms of aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, naval aviation, surface firepower, assault ships, missiles and logistics. The author added that it is unnecessary for many US military experts to engage in fearmongering regarding China's naval capability since "their carriers are modest compared with America's; the submarines far less capable."
The article also went on to say that there is no evidence that China has conducted realistic tests of its anti-ship missile. "China's neighbors are unhappy that the growing Chinese Navy may back Beijing's claims regarding the South China Sea," said Easterbrook. "But Chinese naval expansion does not pose any direct threat to the national security of the United States, or to its dominance of the oceans." He then stated that making the US Navy more powerful does not help to solve the dispute over the South China Sea peacefully.
The Global Times was unhappy about Easterbrook's estimation of Chinese naval power and capabilities. Their commentary said that it is not necessary for China to build a strong and powerful navy to defeat the US in a regional conflict. With enough low cost anti-ship missiles, the People's Liberation Army Navy is capable of paralyzing the US Navy's freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Enough damage can be done to moral and equipment even if only one missle out of 1,000 hits an US aircraft carrier.
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