China’s Underwater A2/AD Strategy

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China’s Underwater A2/AD Strategy | The Diplomat

In last month’s issue of the United States Naval Institute’s Proceedings magazine, Lyle Goldstein and Shannon Knight explore recent Chinese writings that suggest Beijing “has deployed fixed ocean-floor acoustic arrays off its coasts, presumably with the intent to monitor foreign submarine activities in the near seas.” Citing works in Chinese journals such as Shandong Science, China Science Daily, Naval and Merchant Ships, two articles inShip Electronic Engineering, and the widely respected Modern Ships seem to all but confirm China’s foray into this important area of military technology. As the authors note: “The sources presented here show beyond any reasonable doubt that China is hard at work deploying ocean-floor surveillance systems in its proximate waters.”

Wired for Sound in the 'Near Seas' | U.S. Naval Institute

As China’s naval modernization program has shifted into high gear in recent years, numerous defense analysts, both inside and outside China, have rightly pointed to the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN’s) quite obvious weaknesses in antisubmarine warfare (ASW) as a persistent Achilles’ heel of the evolving force.

Although the 2012 introduction of the Type 056 light frigate, which has subsequently been produced at an unusually rapid clip, may represent a significant step toward increasing ASW prowess, there appears to be a long road ahead for Chinese development in this realm. This is made more likely given the profound paucity of operational experience in the PLAN, as well as the apparently long-time neglect of maritime-patrol aircraft and ship-borne helicopters.

Henri K.

 

[bolo]

So first box, China is strong. Second box, China weak. Whats the deal?