Text: Xiao Peng's brilliant notes
Editor|Xiao Peng's brilliant notes
[Preface]
Since ancient times, the strength of the navy has been of great significance and plays an irreplaceable role in safeguarding national territorial sovereignty and security.
After suffering a humiliating history of being invaded, the mainland began to pay more and more attention to the establishment of maritime power, and began to slowly explore and advance.
Up to now, the mainland has established solid naval bases in the three directions along the southeast coast, and the geographical location occupied by the three fleets in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the North China Sea and the deployment of military forces have established a very tight protective circle for the mainland.
What is the strength of these three fleets? If the mainland builds a fourth fleet in the future, where will it be built?
【Deployment of the three major naval bases in the mainland】
In fact, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the mainland had maritime armaments, and they were advanced in shipbuilding and navigation technology, and in the early Ming Dynasty, it entered a heyday.
However, after several dynasties, since 1840, the mainland's territorial waters have been constantly provoked by the imperialist powers.
Because at this time, we were in a state of being defenseless at sea, and the ships of the Western invaders were sailing freely on the waters and territories of the mainland in the later period.
The history of being "slaughtered by others" in the past is vividly remembered, and the mainland has gradually realized the importance of building a navy and consolidating national defense, and has since begun the road of naval construction.
The deployment of the mainland's three major naval bases is the North Sea Fleet, the East China Sea Fleet, and the South China Sea Fleet, which are of great significance in safeguarding the security of the mainland's territorial waters.
It was also from this time that the historical fate of the mainland's century-long humiliation began to change and entered a new turning point, and the mainland's first naval base was built in 1959.
This base is located in Qingdao, as the gate of Beijing and Tianjin, this location is of great strategic significance, in the beginning, this base went to sea to patrol only two ships that were compensated by others in World War II.
Since then, this base has gradually developed, our scientific and technological strength has gradually increased, and the weapons independently developed by the mainland have also been gradually used to strengthen the coastal defense force of the base.
In this way, after several decades of hard work, the fortress on the mainland's northern coastal defense line has gradually become stronger, and now the strength of the mainland's fleet has been strengthened hundreds of times.
In the 2023 data, the deployment of the defense forces of the North Sea Fleet is the first to dock the Liaoning ship, which can carry 20 fighters.
In addition, there are all kinds of destroyers and nuclear submarines, in fact, in the past, the coastal defense force of the North Sea Fleet has always been considered the "weakest" among the three major bases.
Because in the more than ten years from 2000 to 2017, the mainland's focus on coastal defense construction gradually shifted to other sea areas, and the East China Sea Fleet and the South China Sea Fleet were the first two bases for the Xianxian-class destroyers.
But then, since 2018, the coastal defense force of this base has been gradually strengthened, and various large-tonnage naval destroyers such as 055 have gradually joined the North Sea Fleet, and now this fleet has successfully become the top series of existence in Asia.
The South China Sea Fleet's defense area covers the entire South China Sea, and it is also the most powerful fleet among the three major naval bases on the mainland, with 18 destroyers and 38 frigates.
The South China Sea is not only a sea area that has always been watched, but it is also rich in oil, natural gas and fishery resources.
The proven oil and gas reserves here have reached 23 billion to 30 billion tons, and the fishery resources that exist here are also very rich, accounting for a quarter of the country's resources.
Moreover, the South China Sea is the only sea route from the mainland to the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, and the deployment of coastal defense forces in this region will help us to gain great maritime superiority in the event of war.
The British and French navies have a total of 10 destroyers, while the South China Sea Fleet is equipped with 18 destroyers, so relatively speaking, it can also be seen how strong the mainland's deployment of forces in this sea area is.
There are 19 conventional submarines and 12 nuclear submarines, and they are a powerful underwater combat force on the mainland and have tremendous military deterrence at sea.
In addition, the South China Sea Fleet is also fully deployed in terms of supply ships and logistics equipment, and we believe that with the updating and innovation of weapons and equipment, the coastal defense forces in this region will also be strengthened.
Finally, our third fleet, the East China Sea Fleet, is different from the previous two fleets, the coastal defense forces in the East China Sea are mainly based on air power.
In terms of the scale of surface ships, this sea area may not be as large as the South China Sea, but its air power is extremely superior, and most of the mainland's advanced J-20s are allocated to the East China Sea Fleet.
We also all know that the J-20 has a very advanced radar system and the power of air-to-air missiles is also very strong, so the East China Sea Fleet has a very leading air superiority.
In terms of comprehensiveness, the East China Sea base is indeed the most advanced and complete in terms of comprehensive configuration, and the number of heavy composite brigades accounts for more than one-third, so the land defense is also very strong.
[Where is the Fourth Fleet built?]
In fact, the three fleets all have their own advantages, and together they form a powerful coastal defense force on the mainland, and it is precisely the construction of maritime defense forces that has created a very solid barrier for the mainland's territorial sovereignty.
Of course, with the advent of the era of intelligent science and technology, the defense of some coastal countries is also constantly strengthening, and in order to comprehensively strengthen the mainland's maritime defense forces, the establishment of the fourth fleet at sea is also a matter of time.
Of course, where it is going to be built now is the speculation of some military fans on the Internet, but in general comparison, people feel that the most suitable place is our Taiwan Province.
First of all, in terms of geographical location, this area of Taiwan is located in the eastern part of Fujian Province on the mainland, with the East China Sea to the north, the South China Sea to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the east.
However, the mainland's deployment area in the Pacific Ocean is still very narrow, and if the fourth base is built in Taiwan, the mainland's coastal defense area can be further expanded, and it can be advanced by at least 500 kilograms.
In addition, judging from the overall distance of the three existing bases on the mainland, the linkage between the East China Sea and the South China Sea has a very large lag in efficiency due to the problem of distance, and the linkage effect is not very good.
However, if the Fourth Fleet is built in Taiwan, it will be able to become a medium to effectively link various sea areas, achieve a highly efficient linkage effect, further extend the scope of radiation outward, and greatly enhance the solidity of the mainland's maritime defense.
Moreover, the choice of Taiwan as a base will also have a greater effect on the deployment of defense in the South China Sea, and the pressure on this sea area will be a little less.
【China's Naval Defense Forces】
In a short period of 30 years of development, China's navy has successfully transformed from a backward and weak contingent into the world's second largest navy and has entered the world's advanced ranks.
Although the United States has built a three-tier encirclement on the periphery of the mainland, we now also have the strength and weapons to attack the first and second island chains.
In addition, the enhancement of the mainland's naval strength is also reflected to a certain extent in the fact that the Chinese Navy already has three aircraft carriers, and the performance of the Fujian is better than that of the first two.
The existence of the 055-ton drive is also a heavyweight existence, and it is also constantly innovating and improving over time, and the types of combat missions that can be achieved are also increasing.
The strength of mainland shipbuilding is also increasing, and now it has surpassed the United States, which was the world's largest shipbuilding strength at that time, in the construction of this field.
With the development of the mainland's economy and the progress of its military scientific and technological innovation strength, the Chinese Navy's combat weapons have gradually become rich and diverse, and modern equipment such as reconnaissance radars, early warning aircraft, and aerial drone combat swarms are constantly improving and improving.
In terms of fleet development, the mainland has always been the target of many military fans is the US Pacific Seventh Fleet, and in the beginning, the combined strength of all the navies on the mainland could not surpass an aircraft carrier group under the US fleet.
This can also be imagined how big the gap in strength between the two sides is, and although we have to admit it now, there is still a certain gap between the various fleets and the US Seventh Fleet.
However, the advantages of the deployment of these three major fleets on the mainland are also unique, such as the superiority of submarines in the South China Sea Fleet, and the superiority in numbers of destroyers.
If the Fourth Fleet is established in Taiwan Province in the future, it is believed that the mainland's coastal defense capability will certainly be increased to a great extent and even achieve its goal of being invulnerable.
Links to previous issues
China is about to give birth to the world's largest international airport, which is larger than Pudong Airport, do you know which one?
The Soviet Union promised to return Vladivostok to China in 1995, but why has Russia not returned it so far?
In the list of Chang'e-5 lunar soil applications, the United States accounts for 5 out of 10.
Resources:
The Paper - "The location of the aircraft carrier base should be both offensive and defensive, why is the South China Sea unique?"
Yangtze Evening News - "Perspective of the Three Fleets of the Chinese Navy"
Global Network - "Distribution Map of the Three Major Naval Bases of the People's Liberation Army in China's Military Power Report"