US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has come to China and in the Telegraph this morning, Malcom Moore writes about the debate over China’s military capabilities.
It has been a month to remember for the top brass of China’s People’s Liberation Army. While other armies fret about their funding, China’s generals have unveiled three major new weapons that could challenge the military supremacy of the United States and provide the firepower to underline China’s superpower status.
Stealth fighters that may or may not be all that stealthy with pilots of dubious quality, a killer land-sea anti-carrier missile that may or may not be flying blind, gauging the state of the Chinese military these days seems more Ouija Board than Jane’s Defense Weekly, but one asset which has been fairly well documented is the former Soviet wannabe aircraft carrier Varyag, purchased several years ago for the low low price of $20 million and towed to China after a close out sale by the Ukrainian navy.
(Hmmm, which would I rather have: a luxury apartment in Beijing or an aircraft carrier…?)
The carrier now is in Dalian and, if rumors swirling since at least last year are correct, has been dubbed the