Quốc tếWorld

China sends new amphibious assault ship to the South China Sea: New challenges

However, this new vehicle also challenges the thinking and ability of the PLA Navy to integrate multiple ships into a unified framework, analysts assessed.

Hainan is China’s first and largest Type 075 amphibious assault ship, and the second largest ship owned by the Chinese Navy, after only two aircraft carriers. Entered into service at the end of April last year, the ship began its first operation in early March, Chinese media quoted information from the ship’s captain.

The Type 075 provides the PLA Navy with new options for performing near- and offshore missions. In particular, this ship is useful for operations such as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and evacuation of Chinese citizens.

  China sends a new amphibious assault ship to the South China Sea: New challenges - Photo 1.

Type 075 Hainan amphibious assault ship of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Photo: SCMP

“The Hainan can carry helicopters, seaplanes, and amphibious assault vehicles, so it has strong confrontation capabilities,” said Zhou Chenming, a researcher at the Techxscope Institute in Beijing. foreign ships in the area”. “This ship is primarily designed for amphibious operations,” said Timothy Heath, senior analyst at RAND consulting firm (based in the US). It can transport amphibious armored vehicles and helicopters to carry out multi-dimensional attacks on a single target.”

Hainan’s operational capacity marks a new milestone in the process of upgrading the offensive capabilities of the Chinese Navy. The PLA Navy has long been mainly preparing for near-shore missions. With new amphibious ships such as the Type 075 and Type 071, the country’s force can go further into the ocean.

According to China’s military power report released by the Pentagon for 2020, Beijing has the largest navy in the world, with about 350 surface ships and submarines, while the US has 293 ships.

New challenge

However, Mr. Zhou said that combining Hainan with the existing fleet would be a new challenge. “The US Navy has already implemented a comprehensive support system connection for amphibious assault ships, but this type of ship is still a new concept for China,” Zhou said.

“For example, China does not have a guided-missile vessel like the US Navy’s USS Blue Ridge. I think it will be a few years before Beijing can figure out how to use amphibious ships like Hainan, and will China follow the US or will find a new method?”, he said.

Although the Hainan can increase its combat capabilities in the South China Sea, it is not expected to play a big role if Beijing uses force to retake the island of Taiwan.

“For the Taiwan mission, this ship could be useful, but its large size and characteristics make it vulnerable to attack if the enemy is well equipped. Moreover, China still lacks amphibious ships of sufficient size to deploy military action against Taiwan,” Heath assessed.

You are reading the article China sends new amphibious assault ship to the South China Sea: New challenges
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Soha.vn – Read the original article here

Back to top button