ONI Report Highlights Rapidly Growing Chinese Navy

A new report by the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) sheds further light on China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA(N)). According to the authors, China's naval ambitions extend towards a global presence -- thereby seeking to place it alongside the U.S. Navy as the only other nation with a worldwide seaborne military reach:

Since our last publication in 2009, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA(N)) has made significant strides in operationalizing as well as modernizing its force. Although the PLA(N)'s primary focus remains in the East Asia region, where China faces multiple disputes over the sovereignty of various maritime features and associated maritime rights, in recent years, the PLA(N) has increased its focus on developing blue-water naval capabilities. Over the long term, Beijing aspires to sustain naval missions far from China's shores.

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This transition will come rapidly. "In the next decade, China will complete its transition from a coastal navy to a navy capable of multiple missions around the world," the ONI report said. The PLA(N)'s traditional destroyer and frigate backbones are being improved, and "the PLA(N) is on the verge of incorporating very different platforms that will greatly influence the operations of its future fleet":

The JIN-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) is poised to begin strategic patrols in the near future, for the first time, putting Chinese intercontinental range ballistic missiles to sea. At the same time, with the commissioning of the KUZNETSOV-class air craft carrier 'LIAONING,' China has taken the first step as a carrier-capable navy.

Much more of China's military procurements are taking place entirely within the nation. ONI notes that "[a]s the PLA(N) narrowed the technological gap, procurement became more indigenous and more efficient. The last delivery of a major naval platform from a foreign country was the SOVREMENNYY II-class DDGs in 2006." While not explicitly addressed within the ONI report, China's move towards indigenous defense procurements highlight the need to compare military expenditures between China and other nations on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis -- rather than on a more traditional U.S. currency basis which fails to account for an intentionally distorted exchange rate between the two nations. As recently as 1990, the U.S. spent more than 11 times as much as China on PPP-based military expenditures. By 2000, the ratio was down to less than 4:1. As of 2013, it reached 2:1 -- and when the 2014/2015 data is released, it may already be as low as 1.5:1. When also considering that the Chinese do not report many military expenditures as such, the actual defense spending by this communist nation may already be nearing parity with the Americans, with full spending parity (even considering China's slowing economic growth) almost certain to take place within 5-10 years if current trends continue.