Why China is launching new warships in the South China Sea

New Chinese aircraft carrier

China's state-run Global Times informed that its defence forces are set to launch the third aircraft carrier. The warship is set to be launched this year and it includes electromagnetic catapult. 

The other two aircraft carriers include Liaoning and Shandong.

In fact, on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, China launched half a dozen warships and vessel-based helicopters to add to its combat capabilities.

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China's amphibious assault ship

Reports claimed China launched six new ships including the Type 075 amphibious assault ships, three large two Type 052D destroyers.

Hainan the Type 075 amphibious assault ship entered the  Southern Theater Command in the South China Sea and another ship in the same class Guangxi entered the Eastern Theater Command which commands the East China Sea and the Taiwan Straits.

The two Type 052D destroyers include Shaoxing and the Baotou. Shaoxing reportedly took part in eastern theater drills and the Baotou was involved in military exercises in the Yellow Sea.

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The Nanning

China had unleashed Type 052D guided-missile destroyer, the Nanning amid tensions in South  China with the United States last year.

China's Global Times daily said, "Four-day-long realistic-combat training exercise in the waters in the South China Sea" was conducted by the PLA.

The Chinese navy put the  Chaganhu and Qilianshan, an amphibious dock landing ship as part of the exercise alongside the Nanning.

Report say China's new warship has been commissioned into the PLA Southern Theater Command Navy.

(Photo Courtesy: China military/Global Times)

(Photograph:Others)

Anti-stealth radar

The Nanning has a helicopter flight deck and an anti-stealth radar. Reports say China has built three versions of the Type 052D destroyers with "upgraded variations".

The Global Times quoting a Chinese military expert said the destroyer has been "gaining combat capabilities at a rapid speed".

In March, China had displayed the Suzhou which is "an improved version of the Type 052D destroyer", according to Global Times.

The Chinese daily quoting reports said: "At least four of the improved Type 052D destroyers are known to the general public to have entered service, namely the Zibo, the Tangshan, the Huainan and the Suzhou."

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Several variants

China's Type 051 destroyer was the first guided-missile destroyer that was built in the 1970s. It has several variants namely Type 051, Type 051D, Type 051DT, Type 051Z, Luda II and Type 051G.

The rapid deployment of destroyers in the South China Sea has not only created tension among the neighbouring countries who also claim islands in the area but has attracted the attention of the US and NATO as China flexes its military muscle in the troubled waters.

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China had launched 25th Type 052D destroyer

Last August, China had launched its "25th Type 052D destroyer and eighth Type 055 large destroyer". The consistent rollout of destroyers every few months has armed the PLA with several options in combat which is likely to give it an edge during real-time operations.

China and the US have been testing each other in the waters of the South China Sea.

Tensions in maritime waters claimed by both China and many of its neighbours have ratcheted up recently, with Beijing staging live-fire drills and sending hundreds of fishing vessels to a reef claimed by the Philippines.

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China drives away USS Curtis Wilbur

China's military said the USS Curtis Wilbur, a guided-missile destroyer, was warned and driven away from the contested waters near the islands, which are claimed by China.

US actions "increase regional security risks, which easily causes misunderstandings, misjudgements and unforeseen maritime incidents", People's Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command spokesman Colonel Tian Junli said in a notice posted on social media.

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Beijing invokes the so-called nine-dash line

Beijing often invokes the so-called nine-dash line to justify its apparent historic rights over most of the South China Sea, and it has ignored a 2016 international tribunal decision that declared this assertion to be without basis.

The United States had warned China against what the Philippines and Taiwan see as increasingly aggressive moves, reminding Beijing of Washington's obligations to its partners.

President Joe Biden has vowed a robust defence of allies and, in a rare point of continuity with his predecessor Donald Trump, has supported strong pushback against Chinese assertiveness.

(Photograph:AFP)