On April 23, 2022, the People’s Liberation Army Navy will celebrate its 72nd founding anniversary. The PLAN’s modernisation program to build a blue-water navy has made it a numerically formidable fleet to reckon with, leaving behind other Asian navies by a huge margin. Chinese Navy has been continuously present in the IOR since 2010. The Chinese Navy is at present world’s largest navy with an inventory of 355 warships in its fleet. Within the next four years, it is expected to expand up to 420 ships.
The driving force behind the PLAN’s phenomenal rise are two the state-owned enterprises of China’s defense industrial complex: China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) that includes now merged entity the erstwhile China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC). CSSC is spanned over 17 shipyards and is building 20 warships a year.
PLAN’s target to reach the 420 seems apt to many Indians. ‘Chaar Sau Bees’ is a slang used to describe cheaters. Fact being the Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code that deals with “Cheating and dishonesty inducing delivery of property.”
The famous Chinese manufacturing might have made China the world’s fifth largest exporter of weapon systems supplying weapons to over 50 countries. Chinese defence exports are extended arms of the Belt and Road initiative. They have also used political leverage and cheap loans to sell some of their vintage, second-rate defence weapons and systems to many poor Asian and Oceania countries.
Living up to the ‘Made-in-China’ hallmark, the Chinese Defence equipment is ‘Suspect’ and has never been tested in war. China has mastered the cut-and-paste job by reverse engineering Russian and American technology. Even Chinese soldiers have little faith in their equipment.
China sold rust bucket, unserviceable submarines and defective ships to Bangladesh. In 2012, there were multiple media reports about the US selling India defence equipment saddled with faulty made in China spare parts.
China is the biggest supplier of military goods to Myanmar military. Ironically, the Myanmar Military accused the Chinese of adding fuel to the fire by supplying arms to the armed rebels of TNLA, Kachin Independence Army and Arakan Army.
Maintenance, serviceability and performance issues with the recently inducted made in China hardware are giving sleepless nights to Pakistan’s tri-services. Pakistan’s Army Chief General Bajwa has gone on record saying “Chinese were their third choice for defence equipment after rejection from the US and delays from Turkey.”
Kenya, Venezuela, Algeria, Thailand, Jordan, Nepal, they all have either suffered loss of man or material because of the poor workmanship and quality of Made in China military hardware.
Chinese technology is cheap, but it comes at a price. Japan, the UK and the US have banned Chinese state aaffiliate telecom giant Huawei for its alleged involvement in spying. Shanghai-listed Wingtech’s takeover of Newport Wafer Fab, Britain’s largest microchip maker, has fuelled national security concerns.
China’s phenomenal rise in the manufacture of military hardware and software is at the cost of the world. Countries all around the world, be it poor, developing or rich, the Chinese defence manufacturing companies with their promises of cheap defence equipment, have duped them all. Everyone loves a good bargain, but the cheap-substandard Chinese hardware has left many countries’ defences weak. The lack of quality of defence exports along with the infamous debt trap strategy have made china the most unpopular rising power in the world.
Manan Bhatt is a Veteran of the Indian Navy. He has served onboard Frigates & Corvettes with 15 years of service under his belt, including service during Operation Talwar (Kargil War) and Operation Parakram also assignments at the Integrated Headquarters of Defence and DRDO.
