| Publication |
2012.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Those who have been observing China have little doubt that China has
put in substantial effort in modernising her naval forces, especially in
the last decade or so. The genesis of the maritime component of China's defence strategy lies in the People's Republic of China's (PRC's) 1982
Naval Maritime Plan, outlined by then Vice Chairman of the Military
Commission, Liu Huaqing. This naval strategy defined three stages
and goals for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. In the first
stage, from 2000 to 2010, China was to establish control of waters
within the first island chain that links Okinawa Prefecture, Taiwan
and the Philippines. In the second stage, from 2010 to 2020, China
would seek to establish control of waters within the second island
chain that links the Ogasawara island chain, Guam and Indonesia.
In the final stage, from 2020 until 2040, China would aim to put an
end to US military dominance in the Pacific and Indian Oceans,
using aircraft carriers as a key component of its military force. The
current developments and the recent impetus on modernisation find
alignment with this very datum.
|