China reportedly signed two military sale frameworks with Moscow, of which Russia will jointly build four Amur-Class AIP submarines with China and sell them to the country while China will buy 24 Su-35 fighters from Russia, reports Sina's military news portal.
It is the first major military procurement China has made with Russia in 10 years, said the report. China needs submarines to counter threats from India's fleet and build a fleet to resist America's influence, said the Voice of Russia, the Russian government's international radio broadcasting service. A manager for a Russian national defense export company said Moscow and Beijing have been negotiating over submarine technologies. China has not revealed how many submarines it wants to buy and has not scheduled to sign a supply contract.
It is natural for India and China to show interest in Russia's Amur-Class submarines, said a retired Russian Navy general named Sivkov. The submarine is superior to the export version of China's 877 submarine and China would want the Amur-Class vessel since India has them. The Russian submarine can also effectively fight against American submarines and destroy Los Angeles and Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from long distances. Since it produces little noise underwater, American submarines cannot detect the its presence. The characteristic allow the submarine to make fire warning shots or destroy enemy ships effectively during real battles.
Read the full story at Want China Times