Amid rising defence competition with the US and other regional powers, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has commissioned a new-generation frigate. According to the Chinese Navy, this will play a major role in the overall combat effectiveness of its forces.
The first Type 054B frigate, named Luohe, was commissioned Wednesday in Qingdao, a port city in northern China where the PLAN's northern fleet is based. The ship—armed with a variety of machine guns for close combat and anti-air and anti-ship missiles—has a displacement of approximately 5,000 tonnes and includes stealth technology, combat command systems and firepower integration, significantly enhancing overall performance, according to PLAN.
With strong capabilities for comprehensive combat operations and diverse military missions, the warship will play a vital role in enhancing the overall combat effectiveness of naval task forces of China.
China already has the world's largest navy in terms of number of hulls. Its largest competitor, the US, has warned its Navy could be outnumbered and has called for a building programme as well as reforms to put damaged ships into action sooner.
China has around 234 warships compared to the US Navy's 219, including around 50 frigates and the same number of destroyers. China has two operating aircraft carriers and another undergoing sea trials, along with a massive and powerful coast guard.
PLAN operates mainly in waters off the Chinese east coast and in the strategically crucial South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety.
A key mission also remains backing up the army in any attack on Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy about 160 kilometers off the Chinese coast that Beijing has vowed to annex by force if necessary.
According to some defense publications, the ship could become the backbone of the Chinese navy.
The PLAN has also sent ships further abroad, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean, in its attempts to use its navy as an extension of its growing economic and diplomatic clout. PLAN and Chinese coast guard ships have also patrolled in the East China Sea, where China claims a group of uninhabited islands controlled by Japan.
—With agency inputs
