#ChinaNavalGamePlan: China bolsters naval fleet; what is PLA plotting?
18 June, 2021 | Rakshanda Afrin
The Chinese navy is sailing its new destroyers in the South China Sea as its shipbuilding spree continues. This could further bolster an already belligerent Beijing.
New satellite images studied by the Center for Strategic and International Studies show the progress China has made with regards to its third aircraft carrier which is being built at the shipyards in Shanghai. With eyes on the Indo-Pacific region, China’s latest carrier is bigger than the first two and more sophisticated in terms of the technology deployed.
As per Chinese media reports, the Chinese navy is sailing its new destroyers in the South China Sea as its shipbuilding spree continues. This could further bolster an already belligerent Beijing which already conducts incursive drills in the South China Sea region. For long china has invaded the waters of many countries of the region, claiming it to be their own, even building on islands in the region. In a bizarre situation so rapid is the Chinese navy’s expansion that it is running out of big cities to name the warships after.
The Indo-pacific has also seen multiple drills conducted by the US, Japan and Australia in what were strong signals to China. The question now remains, how will this new carrier boost China’s plans and how to check China’s ever increasing bullying tactics in the Indo-pacific and beyond.