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How powerful is China's navy?

China now has the biggest navy on Earth by some measures. What’s it going to do with it?

China has reacted angrily following this month's announcement of an alliance that will enable Australia to possess and deploy nuclear powered submarines in the region. Australia says the partnership with the USA and the UK, or Aukus, is not aimed at China. But most analysts agree that the initiative is hoping to counter Beijing's rapidly expanding naval capabilities. Chinese patrol boats have clashed with neighbouring vessels in disputed waters, home to billions of barrels of untapped oil and gas. The country has created artificial islands in the South China Sea and there are concerns it may use its growing amphibious capabilities to invade Taiwan. So how important is the Chinese navy to the country's overall strategic and economic plan? How does its expansion affect maritime disputes in East Asia and the safe passage of trillions of dollars worth of commodities each year? And is China right to accuse the West of a 'Cold War mentality' when it criticises the country's military investments?

Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of experts.

Producers: Junaid Ahmed and Paul Schuster

Available now

49 minutes

Last on

Sat 25 Sep 2021 03:06GMT

Contributors

Rear Admiral (ret.) Michael McDevitt - Senior Fellow, CNA; Author of China as a Twenty First Century Naval Power


Nong Hong - Executive Director & Senior Fellow, Institute for China-America Studies


Captain James Fanell - Geneva Centre for Security Policy; former Director of Intelligence and Information Operations, U.S. Pacific Fleet


Bonny Lin - Senior Fellow, Asian Security and Director of the China Power Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies


Featuring:


Victor Gao - Former Chinese diplomat; Vice President, Center for China and Globalization


Oriana Skylar Mastro - Fellow, Institute for International Studies, Stanford University; Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Picture

Chinese aircraft carrier, the Liaoning (C). Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Broadcasts

  • Fri 24 Sep 2021 09:06GMT
  • Fri 24 Sep 2021 23:06GMT
  • Sat 25 Sep 2021 03:06GMT

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