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| Chinese Type 052D Destroyer |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
A new report highlights Sino-Russian cooperation in building up the PLAN’s surface warfare capabilities.
Russian military technology has significantly contributed to the development of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) surface warfare capabilities – including long-range precision strike – and has made Chinese naval vessels increasingly capable of defending themselves against U.S. air strikes and long-range missile attacks, according to a new report [PDF] published by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
While the report treads no new ground with this assertion, it nevertheless provides a good overview of Sino-Russian arms and technology transfers to prop up the PLAN’s surface fleet and expand its burgeoning anti-access capability in the Western Pacific. In that respect, Russian air defense technology, long-range sensors, and anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) systems have played a crucial role.
For example, Russian-made and Russian-derived air defense technologies now enable PLAN surface warfare ships to slip out from underneath the PLA’s land-based air-defense umbrella and to increasingly operate further away from Chinese shores. In addition, new Chinese/Russian-derived ASCM systems along with long-range sensors can now threaten medium-sized naval U.S. surface ships and even strike U.S. military installations as far as Guam and Okinawa (See: “Here’s What You Need to Know About China’s Grand Military Parade”).
Read the full story at The Diplomat