In an article published on Globe Magazine, a publication under the official Xinhua News Agency, Wang Haiyun, a major-general, former diplomat, and scholar at a government think tank on China-Russian relations, proposed to equip the Chinese navy with three to five carrier battle groups.

“Considering its degree of modernization and oceanic combat capability, the Chinese navy can only be called a ‘near-shore navy’ and ‘offshore navy,’ which can only meet the needs of the coastline and offshore defense. In order to maintain the security of three million square kilometers of sea territory effectively, we must build a more powerful navy.”

“Over the years, the United States, Japan, and other countries have subjected our country to strategic containment. In the past two years, the U.S. has announced a high-profile ‘return to the Asia-Pacific’ by building an alliance system of our neighboring countries with a focus on the oceans. Japan was also eager to organize a ‘value based alliance’ as the vanguard of the U.S. Facing this relatively serious maritime security threat, to deal with the challenges, stabilize the peripheral security environment, and break the US-Japan containment, we must concentrate on the ocean.”

“Another related problem is: with economic development and the rising scale of imports of resources and energy and exports of all kinds of goods, we must place an ever growing reliance on our maritime transport and our ability to secure our maritime transport. With the instability of a few countries at the global choke-points of maritime transport, if China does not have the military capability of sea deterrence and handling emergent events, it will be difficult to avoid being subject to the blackmail of certain countries.”

“As a world power with a growing global interest and responsibility, we need to push for an early start to the construction of the ‘deep blue navy.’ It is essential to build, as quickly as possible, several modern aircraft carrier battle groups with comprehensive combat capability. Neither oceanic territory defense nor military power delivery can be achieved without these aircraft carrier battle groups. As for the number, with our vast ocean territory and difficulties in carrying out our responsibilities as a global power, we cannot do without three to five aircraft carrier battle groups.”

Source: Globe Magazine, July 31, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/globe/2012-07/31/c_131737507.htm