Source: Want China Times
A Chinese guided missile destroyer. (Photo/Xinhua)
The appearance of a picture of China’s second 052D guided missile destroyer on the internet recently has aroused speculation that the country’s most advanced version of the warship is ready for service.
The television station HBTV in central China’s Hubei province reported that the vessel in the picture was decorated with national flags and other trappings which suggested that it was ready for launch.
It is not unusual for China to release pictures of its new self-developed weapons to internet users before confirming their existence, said HBTV.
A political commentator Zhang Bin told HBTV that the launch of the destroyer will be a milestone in China’s naval development, as it will send a veiled warning to other countries, especially Japan, which is embroiled in a territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea that are also claimed by Taiwan.
Noting that Shinzo Abe, the president of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, said after his party won the Dec. 16 parliament election that Japan’s sovereignty over the islands is beyond dispute, Zhang said the launch of China’s second 052D destroyer will obviously force Abe to lower his voice when making similar claims in the future.
The surfacing of the picture on the internet after Abe’s remarks could not be a coincidence, said Zhang, recalling that a picture of China’s first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, appeared on the internet on Sept. 25, shortly after US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited Beijing.
A picture of a Chinese J-31 stealth fighter was posted on the internet on Nov. 5 during the peak of the Sino-Japanese dispute over the islands, while a picture showing the successful test flight of China’s J-15 fighter jets on its aircraft carrier appeared Nov. 25, shortly after US President Barack Obama visited three Southeast Asian countries, including China’s close allies Myanmar and Cambodia.
As a successor to the 052C, the 052D destroyer was billed as China’s version of the Aegis, the state-of-the-art US warship. It is equipped with 64 vertical missile launch cells, allowing for quick firing of anti-air, anti-ship and ground-attack missiles which is sure to change the regional military balance significantly.
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