China has the world's most powerful navy, surpassing the United States, now what next?

In 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping boarded the People's Liberation Army's Navy Destroyer on the South China Sea. He was preceded in that day by the largest parade of the Chinese navy on that day in April, which consisted of 48 warships, dozens of fighter jets and more than 10,000 troops.

This day was important for the great ambitions of the most powerful leader since Mao Tse Tung, Xi, who was showing China's greatness and power in all seven oceans of the world. "The task of building a powerful navy has never been more urgent than it is now," Xi said that day.

China was already in the process of building a ship. In 2015, Xi launched a project to turn the PLA into a world-class combat force similar to the US military. He ordered investment in ports and technology, which continues at the same pace.

C's plan seems to have met at least one criterion. At some point in 2015, China has built up the world's largest naval force and is now moving to attack it far beyond its shores.

According to the US Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had 255 warships in its fleet in 2015. ONI estimates that by the end of 2020, the PLAN may have 360 ​​warships (more than 60 compared to the US Navy).

ONI has projected that PLAN will have 400 warships in the next four years.

Back in 2000, this number was even lower. "China's naval warfare has grown exponentially over the past two decades," said a report released in December by leaders of the US Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.

"The People's Republic of China, which currently commands the world's largest navy, is rapidly building modern ground warplanes, submarines, aircraft carriers, fighter jets, ballistic nuclear missile submarines, large coast guard cutters and polar cyberbreakers."

Some of them are said to be equal to or better than what the United States or other powers can do on the water. "PLAN is not taking advantage of China's shipbuilding industry, it is taking advanced and capable ships," Andrew Erickson of the China Maritime Studies Institute at Naval War College in the United States wrote in February.

These include ships such as the Type 055 Destroyer. According to some analysts, these assault ships, which can operate on land and water, are more powerful than the American Ticonderoga class cruisers, which could take thousands of Chinese troops overseas.

Where is america

China is expected to be able to operate 400 ships by 2025. So far, the US military's goal is to build 355 fleets. There is no set date for achieving this goal. Numerically, the United States lags behind.

But that doesn't mean the US Navy's days as the world's most powerful fighting force are over. In terms of troop numbers, the US Navy is large, with 330,000 active-duty troops, while China has only 250,000 troops.

Analysts point to many aspects of the US. The U.S. Navy still operates heavy military ships, such as China's guided missile destroyers and cruisers.

These ships give the United States a huge advantage in cruise missile launch capabilities. According to Nick Child, a security analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the United States has more than 9,000 vertical launch missile sales on its surface ship, while China has 1,000 sales.

Similarly, the US submarine fleet of 50 boats is fully nuclear powered. There are only seven nuclear-capable boats in the 62-boat Chinese fleet. However, the situation near home seems to be in Beijing's favor.

"The Chinese military is superior to the US in fighting and patrolling the coast. And Beijing has plenty of small patrol ships. Such small ships are being augmented by the Chinese Maritime Guard and the Maritime Militia. Adding even enough such ships would double the strength of the PLAN. '

"The Chinese military is superior to the US in fighting and patrolling the coast. And Beijing has plenty of small patrol ships. Such small ships are being augmented by the Chinese Maritime Guard and the Maritime Militia. Adding even enough such ships would double the strength. of the PLAN. '

There is no comparison with Chinese shipbuilding

If you can't build many ships, you won't have the world's largest navy. China has established itself as the world's largest commercial shipbuilder.

According to the United Nations, in 2018 China accounted for 40 percent of the world's shipbuilding market. It is well ahead of second-ranked South Korea at 25 percent.

Looking at it from a historical angle, China's shipbuilding numbers are staggering. More than the United States did in World War II. China built more peacekeepers in the same year (2019) than the United States did during World War II (1941-45) for four years. "During World War II, US shipbuilding under the emergency shipbuilding program was high and production was 18.5 million tons per year.

At the end of the war, the United States had a merchant ship weighing 39 million tons, 'said Thomas Sugart, a senior fellow at the Center for New American Security and a former U.S. Navy captain, during a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives last month. China's trade fleet is more than 300 million tons.

Commercial transportation by Chinese state-owned companies is also the backbone of its navy. ‘In war, abundant industrial potential, such as additional commercial ports, could very quickly turn into military production and repair. This will further enhance China's ability to deploy new troops, "Erickson of the US Naval War College wrote last year.

These commercial ports have the capacity to increase the existing physical infrastructure, manpower involved and technology to increase the number of warships.

This is something that China can do very easily. According to the Chinese Power Project, from 2014 to 2018, China has launched more submarines, warships and amphibious vessels than ships with the navies of Germany, India, Spain and the United Kingdom.

"Looking at the speed at which China is building warships and the capabilities of these new warships, I can say that it has already raised itself above the navy." It is now perhaps the most powerful navy in the region, with some international reach. They are on track to build a world-class navy. If they continue to develop as they do now, that's what will happen, "Sugart told CNN.

Missile power

Beijing is systematically building its navy. "So far, it has built ships such as the Corvette, frigates and diesel-electric powered submarines, which are well-suited to the waters around China," said Siddhartha Kaushal, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

China is building smaller ships, while the United States has fewer. Such small ships appear to be effective in the maritime environment near Taiwan around the South China Sea and the Senkaku / Diau Islands near the East China Sea (which are under Japanese control but China is claiming its own).

A large number of ground-based missile forces have provided protection to PLAN ships in the waters off the coast of China.

The missiles "disrupt US power projection and prevent large navies and air forces from invading the Chinese mainland," Kaushal said, "although it also affects power projection against local countries." When America's maritime link to help them deteriorates, these countries become very weak. '

For example, if the US Navy failed to operate the South China Sea border because of the threat posed by Chinese missiles, it would be difficult for it to defend the Philippines, which has a mutual defense agreement with it.

The US military leadership is also aware that in 2021, the PLA Navy will be more than just a ship. "Look at what China is really investing in," said Adam Mike Guildy, head of US naval operations, in an interview published in Breaking Defense this week.

They are also investing heavily in anti-ship missiles and satellite systems that can target ships. '

China is adamant that it will have its hands full in any conflict near its home and that its military is capable.

"China's national security development is aimed at meeting its security needs and contributing to the growth of the world's peacekeeping force," the White Paper on "China's National Security in the New Era" released in 2019 stated. '

So why is the PLA Navy building suitable aircraft carriers, amphibious assault seats and large and powerful destroyers and cruisers for operations far away from China? There is a question of west countries.