The Slow Growth of the Chinese Navy (1990-2019)
Since the end of the Cold War, the Chinese Navy has grown from an obsolete coast defense force into the second largest navy in the world. Now composed of every class of modern warship, including aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, and guided missile destroyers, as well as the necessary auxiliaries needed to support them, the Chinese Navy has become a true blue water force seemingly overnight. However, a closer examination reveals that the growth of the Chinese Navy has actually been rather measured and may well be aiming for a smaller overall force than many estimate. For the purposes of this post, I'm only going to be covering the larger Chinese surface combatants because accurate numbers on their small combatants, submarines, and auxiliaries are simply not available. However, this may actually overestimate the Chinese expansion because the growth of their auxiliary and submarine fleets in particular have lagged behind that of their surface force. Naval Growth Lags Econ...