BEIJING: As a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China should strengthen the air defense capabilities of the country's Marine Corps, especially when conducting operations against Taiwan, according to a Chinese military magazine.
The missile cruiser Moskva, Russia's Black Sea flagship, was sunk by Ukrainians in mid-April using a ground-based anti-ship missile. Less than a month later, Ukrainian officials reported that a drone strike had sank a second Russian ship in the Black Sea.
According to the publication Naval and Merchant Ship, China's Marine Corps is in urgent need of improving its air defense and anti-missile warfare effectiveness, especially for front-line units. This is the main lesson learned from the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
According to the article, China has historically placed an excessive amount of emphasis on surface ships. When it came to conducting air and anti-missile operations by touching enemy territory, that strategy failed. However, it was acceptable to upload weapons and cross waters.
The article states that even if the amphibious ships are equipped with HQ-10 short-range air-defense missiles, their air defense and anti-missile capabilities are insufficient. "The main duty of the escort fleet is to provide various support to the amphibious fleet, such as air defense and anti-missile shields, which are vulnerable to attacks upon reaching Taiwan's coastline," it added.
In addition, the article claimed that the Chinese surface-to-surface missiles lack the required range to adequately protect the Marine Corps.
It was questioned whether and for how long the Marines would be protected because the naval version of the HQ-16 air defense missile has a range of only 40 km (25 mi) and the Type 054A frigate can only carry a limited amount of ammunition. Is. One of China's main warships is the Type 054 design multi-role frigate.
The article also noted that a possible future acquisition of Taiwan's Thunderbolt-2000 Multiple Rocket Launch System and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System could make it even more difficult to neutralize threats to Chinese surface ships.
After a civil war on the mainland, China and Taiwan split in 1949, when the Kuomintang was defeated by Communist Party forces and fled to Taipei. Beijing considers the island to be part of China and has never prohibited the use of force.
The article concludes that China needs to re-evaluate the air-defense capabilities of its army's frontline units and improve its own strike capabilities.
According to the US Naval Institute, China is expanding the size and capabilities of its Marine Corps to project power in any environment far and wide outside China.
According to reports in Chinese state media, China announced plans to expand the Marine Corps from 20,000 to 100,000 members in 2017, when Beijing was reducing the size of the larger People's Liberation Army to 300,000.
Beijing claims that strengthening China's Marine Corps aims to protect maritime trade routes and the country's growing international interests. The Marine Corps is a highly trained and well equipped force designed for rapid deployment and offensive operations launched from the sea.
The largest marine core in the world is found in the United States. According to the website GlobalSecurity.org, it has more Marines than all other Marine Corps.
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