by Kris Osborn, President, Warrior
(Washington DC) There is little mystery surrounding China’s well-known and documented ambition to build a large, global fleet of at least six aircraft carriers, as it is something which is already well-underway. The People’s Liberation Army – Navy has already operated three aircraft carriers on the ocean simultaneously, as its third and newest “Fujian” carrier conducted sea-trials while the Chinese Liaoning and Shandong conducted patrols in the Pacific.
Three carriers on the sea simultaneously would seem to indicate early phases of what appears to be a large-scale Chinese ambition to project multi-theater, global naval and air power. The concept is as clear and self-evident as it may be concerning to the Pentagon. The PRC is moving quickly to expand its influence and reach beyond being a regional “Pacific” power and instead working to rival the US Navy as a pre-eminent global force capable of projecting power across and within multiple theaters around the world simultaneously.
The US, for example, can operate one or two carriers in the Pacific while also maintaining a carrier presence in the Mediterranean and other global hotspots. A PLA ability to operate in a similar fashion brings military and geopolitical implications and it will enable China to strengthen and expand its growing global influence.
PLA Global Ops
The PRC is already known to be conducting large scale economic and political influence operations in key places such as the African and South American continents, therefore adding a carrier presence would introduce unprecedented military dimensions to these well-known ongoing efforts. For example, in recent years, China has built a forward-operating military base near the U.S. military’s facility in Djibouti, located in the Horn of Africa. In a related effort, Beijing’s one-belt-road initiative seeks to establish access and lines of influence from Western and Southern China into India and the Middle East.
The 2024 Pentagon’s annual China report explained that the PLAN is conducting far-sea carrier training operations at further distances off its coast in key areas near the Philippines. Sure enough, not long after the US Navy conducted aligned dual-carrier sortie coordination drills in the Pacific, the PLA Navy did the same thing. This suggests that not only is the PRC looking to copy US reach and influence but also mirroring US tactics and training as well. Chinese government-backed newspapers such as the Global Times regularly showcase PLA multi-domain task force kinds of training and efforts to copycat the Pentagon’s Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) command and control system.
Should China wish to support its growing military presence in certain places, such as the Middle East, or expand its allied relationships, it will need forward-deployed navy power projection.
Build Carriers Fast Enough?
There are two clear yet contradictory elements to this; in one sense, China is far from being able to maintain a global presence in any way comparable to the US.
China’s well known carrier-construction efforts only seem to be expanding, and they are fortified by the PRC’s often discussed civil-military fusion enabling streamlined and synergized government and industry efforts to prioritize and fast-track shipbuilding.
As part of this, China is adding new shipyards and building carriers and warships at a staggering pace. It is unclear how many years the PLAN may take to operate a carrier fleet the size of the U.S. Navy, as there may be many estimates. The threat, however, is likely not lost on the Pentagon.
Kris Osborn is tPresident of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
