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| Chinese J-20 Stealth Fighter (File Photo) |
A report published Saturday by the National Interest, a conservative American bi-monthly magazine on international affairs, suggests that backed by its economic might, advances in Chinese armaments are poised to elevate the People's Liberation Army into a credible rival to US forces in the Western Pacific theater.
These weapons include stealth fighters, missiles and submarines, and are classified by the Pentagon as anti-access/area denial (A2/AD). They are designed to challenge the US presence in the Pacific, a domain seen by China's leaders as their own turf.
The report said the Chengdu J-20 is China's first attempt to build a fifth-generation stealth fighter that may be able to challenge the air power of the US in the Pacific. Although many details concerning the fighter remain murky, the J-20 is a large twin-engine jet believed to have stealth capability and capable of carrying bigger payloads. It boasts an active electronically scanned array radar and an electro-optical targeting system that provides similar combat capabilities to the US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Read the full story at Want China Times