Hyping China's Military Threat

China's military power isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

As China's first aircraft carrier sets sail, Paul Dibb examines Chinese military power and finds it wanting:

China has 68 tactical submarines (28 of which are obsolete) whereas the USSR had 280 at the height of its military power. China has 78 principal surface combatants in its navy compared with 264 for the former Soviet Union. The Pentagon classifies only 25 per cent of Chinaâ??s naval surface combatants (and fighter aircraft) as modern.

Many of Chinaâ??s most advanced weapons are still based heavily on foreign designs (mostly Russian) copied through reverse engineering. This highlights a persistent weakness in Chinaâ??s capability for innovation and a reliance on foreign suppliers for some propulsion units, fire control systems, cruise missiles, torpedoes, sensors and advanced electronics.

By all means we need to keep a close eye on the development of Chinaâ??s military forces. China is undoubtedly an ambitious power seeking to claim its historical place in the sun. But letâ??s not succumb to the fatal assumption that Chinaâ??s rise will be a simple straight-line extrapolation.

Dibb's description of Chinese conventional military weaknesses is more telling, but China doesn't have to be America's global equal or even to match the US in the Pacific. To change the regional strategic status quo, all it needs is the ability to challenge US control of the sea, and it is well on the way to doing that.

(AP Photo)