Abrar Hussain of DOT
New satellite images have shown one of China’s most prominent naval shipbuilding harbors to have expanded rapidly in the past decade amid a massive military modernization push by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Jiangnan Shipyard, located in Shanghai at the mouth of the Yangtze River, was opened in 2008 but it has already increased by 64%, according to satellite imagery analyzed by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “Jiangnan is responsible for some of China’s most advanced warships … The assets produced at the shipyard form an important part of the PLAN’s (People’s Liberation Army Navy’s) modernization,” Matthew Funaiole, a fellow at the CSIS’s China Power Project told CNN.
It comes amid a concerted campaign by President Xi to rapidly expand and update China’s navy, with 32 ships commissioned in 2016 and 2017 alone, according to US government reports.
At the Jiangnan Shipyard, satellite imagery has captured some of the PLAN’s newest, most advanced vessels under construction, including a number of Type 055 guided-missile destroyers — Asia’s largest, most sophisticated and most lethal combat ships.
The rapid rise of China’s military and vessel productions stands in stark comparison to the US. Although the US has a clear advantage in the quality, if not quantity, of their vessels, its fleet has faced a steady stream of bad news in recent years.
Two deadly at-sea collisions in the Asia-Pacific have damaged the navy’s reputation, while US government reports claim it will take “decades” to fix shipyards, which are in a “poor condition.”
-Source: CNN