A Strategic Study on Mainland China’s Escort Patrol in the East African Seas(2005-2012)

• Main Authors: Ching-Hua Sun, 孫晋華
• Other Authors: Kao-Cheng Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/5vfrmg

碩士 === 淡江大學 === 國際事務與戰略研究所碩士在職專班 === 101 === The People’s Liberation Army had on December 26, 2008 sent a special Navy envoy fleet to Gulf of Aden in the Somali waters, which had unleashed the People’s Liber-ation Army’s long Navy deployment to the Indian Ocean for carrying out anti-piracy escort patrol mission, which had reached 14 sessions by now. Mainland China has emerged as the second largest economic entity after more thirty years of reform, and as 80% of the international trade relies on shipping by ocean freight, maritime safety bears a close relation to a country’s survival and development. As one of the three major oceans around the globe, the safety of maritime navigation courses in the Indian Ocean is directly correlated to Mainland China’s navigation access for trade, energy and strategic defense. With the safety scenario of its maritime corridor in the Indian Ocean being rather harsh, Mainland China needs to improve the Sino-American and Sino-Indian ties in order to maintain the safety of its navigation courses in the Indian Ocean, and also to maintain a friendly relation with countries surrounding the Indian Ocean by promoting multilateral cooperation for the safety across the Indian Ocean and by fully utilizing the synergy of the international community to instill a long-term maritime safety mechanism. The Chinese military had on November 5, 2011 pointed out, “Our Naval training is to expand from the near coast to the deep seas”. The People’s Liberation Army has since instilled a three-dimensional infiltration power from the air, on sea surface and underwater as it steps up its strategic intimidation and infiltration capability by developing deep sea cooperation and its capability in responding to non-conventional security threat. Mainland China’s dispatching its fleet to the east African seas clear shows the Chinese Navy’s “Transformation”. As reported by Want Daily on April 17, 2013, Mainland China had announced its national defense white paper that mentioned for the first time the “offshore gain”, which had become a critical part of its national interest, as it declared its will to defend offshore energy resources, maritime strategic corridors, and the safety of overseas citizens and incurporated entities. It also emphasized on embarking on maritime escort, evacuating overseas citizens, emergency aid in a series of maritime actions, which had become a critical equation in the Liberation Army’s fulfilling its international duties. The Chinese Navy is currently exploring deep sea combat mission mobilization and training mode by organizing a deep sea combat mobilization team training made up of new-model frigates, deep-sea general supply ships, and helicopters on aircraft carrier, which highlight its focal content of long-term warning, deep sea interception, long-range ambush, anti-submarine at sea, deep sea navigate on escort and so forth. It also turns to the deep-sea training to jump start the coastal troops to conduct air defense, anti-submarine, anti-torpedo, as well as anti-terrorism, anti-piracy, near-coast defense, islet/reef infiltration in a series of resistive tangible troop drillings. To safeguard the interest of a large country, the People’s Liberation Army has quickened its pace of developing Navy aircraft carriers because it remains the only viable means to deploy the military forces to the area where conflict has occurred to ensure its national strategic gain is kept intact. In Mainland China’s dynamic national defense modernization process, a brand-new People’s Liberation Army’s Navy fleet can be expected in the near future.