As for China's Fujian aircraft carrier, the foreign media generally spoke highly of it, claiming that it was a supercarrier that could compete with the USS Ford.
[It's hard to imagine how big the Fujian ship is]
Now the mooring test of the Fujian ship is also being carried out in an orderly manner, and it is believed that the future service will not be too far away.
In the past, we were "timid" when we passed through the Indian Ocean waterway, for fear that any country would be unhappy and detain our oil tankers.
In the future, after the Fujian ship is added to the ranks, the situation will be very different, and it may be difficult for you to imagine how great its strategic significance is!
The strategic significance of the Fujian
From a geopolitical point of view, the Indian Ocean is the lifeline of global energy transshipment.
As the world's second largest economy, China is highly dependent on oil and gas resources, and most of the time it needs to buy from the Middle East and Africa.
The Indian Ocean Shipping Lane is the only way for our ships at sea.
China's security in the Indian Ocean shipping lanes is related to China's energy security, which further affects China's economic development, and we cannot ignore it.
With the appearance of the Fujian and its entry into service in the near future, China's security in the Indian Ocean shipping lanes will undoubtedly be greatly enhanced. Why?
[The safety of China's ships needs to be guaranteed]
First of all
Different from other aircraft carriers, the Fujian uses electromagnetic catapult technology, which improves the efficiency and load capacity of carrier-based aircraft taking off, which also means that it can carry more fighters and early warning aircraft to improve the air combat power of the far-sea combat group.
At the level of the Fujian ship, it can be completely compared with the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and both the combat scope and comprehensive combat strength are incomparable with the Shandong and Liaoning ships.
Therefore, in the Indian Ocean, the Fujian can provide the Chinese Navy with a more powerful mobile maritime combat platform, effectively countering potential maritime threats, protecting the safety of shipping lanes, and ensuring control of critical sea areas.
Secondly, especially at the nodes of the Maritime Silk Road in the Indian Ocean.
We have sufficient confidence to provide security guarantees for countries along the Belt and Road, thereby promoting the process of regional economic integration, deepening economic and trade relations with countries along the Belt and Road, and further promoting regional peace and stability.
At this time, some people may question: In the same way, why can't the Shandong ship and the Liaoning ship?
Moreover, from the perspective of the global strategic pattern, the United States, India and other countries are pursuing their own interests in the region.
【U.S. Aircraft Carrier】
As an important part of the Chinese Navy, the Fujian will not only be a symbol of strength, but also an important tool for China to participate in international affairs and maintain the international maritime order as a responsible major country.
In addition, the presence of the Fujian provides the Chinese Navy with the possibility of conducting ocean-going training, enhancing its ability to defend its rights in open waters, and improving its ocean-going combat system, which will help shape a peaceful and stable international maritime environment in the long run.
One family rejoices and one sorrows
It can be seen from this that the significance of the Fujian aircraft carrier has been extended to the perspective of global strategic development, and we hope that more and more Fujian ships will appear in the future.
But as the so-called family is happy and one is sad, our neighbor India's "third brother" looked at the Fujian ship, and his brows were twisted into Sichuan characters.
India's ambitions for hegemony in the Indian Ocean region are thriving, and the Indian Navy has maintained a situation of at least two aircraft carriers since the last century.
But if an India wants to dominate the ocean, its ambitions are too great, and they "can't eat" this big cake.
On the one hand, the strength of the Indian Navy is actually just like that, and of the two aircraft carriers, the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier was purchased from Russia, and the other aircraft carrier, the Vikrant, is an aircraft carrier made by all nations.
Due to the long service time of the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier and the fact that the "third brother" is not well maintained, a lot of equipment has been aged, and it is estimated that it will not be able to serve for another 10 years or so.
Although the aircraft carrier Vikrant has not been in service for a long time, due to technical reasons, it often has problems and is not reliable.
Moreover, these two aircraft carriers have a common feature, that is, they have low displacement and combat power, and at most they can touch our Liaoning ship.
On the other hand, although the United States has the idea of pursuing interests in the Indian Ocean, it has not yet given the third brother "strength" for the time being because it is not making smooth progress in the western Pacific region.
[The US aircraft carrier is a brick, where there is "oil", it will be moved]
Now that the United States has "hit a wall" in the western Pacific, it is very likely that it will change its strategic objectives and prioritize the integration of the Indian Ocean region.
In the future, China will also pay more attention to its overseas interests, and the intensity of competition in the Indian Ocean region will soon increase.
China's construction of the Fujian can be regarded as a precautionary measure, laying a solid foundation for pursuing overseas interests in the future.
The more Fujian ships, the better
But for a big country like China, only one Fujian aircraft carrier is certainly not enough, and if you really want to compete with the United States at sea, you need at least 6 ships.
After the appearance of the future Type 004 aircraft carrier, its combat power level is not lower than that of the Fujian ship, and it is another important weapon in China's sea, which can be compared with the Fujian ship
The Type 005 aircraft carrier is more likely to be nuclear-powered, and its mission is more likely to safeguard China's interests in the Middle East.
[Type 004 aircraft carrier concept map]
Since 005 has a chance to go far, then there will always be an aircraft carrier on duty in turn, and this task will be handed over to the Type 006 aircraft carrier. As for the remaining Shandong and Liaoning aircraft carriers, they are just "bricks", and they need to be moved wherever they need to go.
However, by the time the Type 006 aircraft carrier is put into service, it is estimated that the Liaoning and Shandong ships will already face retirement, and China's sliding aircraft carrier will become history.
Resources:
[1] Global Times: "Is there a crack in the deck of the Fujian ship? Even the US media doesn't believe it"
[2] CCTV program official website: "[Weapons Face-to-face] Fujian Ship is the first catapult-type aircraft carrier designed and built by the mainland completely independently"