While Western governments are fully aware of China’s significance in the globalisation of the world’s economy, few of them have noted the upsurge in its military strength in general, and in its naval power in particular. With a military budget increasing annually by more than 15 per cent, it is hardly surprising that the Middle Kingdom has in a very short time managed to upgrade its Navy into third place among the world’s major navies in terms of tonnage, and that it must now be taken into account. Furthermore, it is now routinely demonstrating its new-found strength by deploying some of its warships far from their bases: in 2007 a Lujang I-class guided missile destroyer, together with a Fuchi-class fleet replenishment ship, visited Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain and France.

This expansion will continue inexorably, as it is now certain that the ex-Russian aircraft carrier Varyag, officially purchased by a Chinese businessman for conversion into a casino, will be recommissioned as a training carrier in anticipation of the construction of a 48,000-tonne operational carrier. Two new nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarines have also appeared; these Jin-class boats are each armed with 12 Ju Lang 2 strategic missiles; two new-generation Shang-class nuclear-powered attack submarines have also recently entered service. These are in addition to the three most recent Han-class boats. Progress is also being made in conventional submarines, with 48 modern units now in service (12 Kilo, 2 Yuan, 14 Song and 20 Ming).

Surface warships have not been neglected either: China now has 10 air defence ships, four of them Russian-built; in addition to the two Sovremenny-class already delivered and the four Luyang-class, recent years have seen the commissioning of two more Sovremenny-class and two Luzhou-class vessels that are little more than air defence variants of the oldest version of the Luhai-class. Following on from the two Jiangkai I-class stealth frigates that entered service in 2005, an improved version, the Jiangkai II-class—with medium-range surface-to-air missiles—is now starting to be delivered. At least three frigates of this type are now in service and two are under construction. These additions will enable the progressive withdrawal of obsolescent ships such as the unmodernised Luda-class destroyers (two have already been decommissioned) and the Jianghu-class frigates, two of which have been placed in reserve and two others transferred to coastal patrol duties; the most recent Jianghu-class hulls (Jianghu V) are, however, still being modernised. A significant number of missile-armed patrol craft with wave-piercing catamaran hulls have entered service and these continue in series production. Two new classes of mine-clearance ships, a field in which China is still trailing, have appeared in limited numbers: these are the Wozang and Wochi classes. The expansion of the amphibious assault ship fleet continues, with the entry into service in 2007 of China’s first landing ship dock (LSD), the Kunlunshan, to add to the fleet of around 40 major tank landing craft of the Yuting, Yukang, Yudeng and Yunshu classes that have entered service in recent years.