PLA Navy may establish fourth fleet for Indian Ocean
Staff Reporter 2015-02-03 11:54 (GMT+8)


To extend its reach to the Indian Ocean, China's PLA Navy may establish a fourth fleet after the North Sea, East Sea and South Sea fleets, according to Duowei News, an outlet operated by overseas Chinese.

Senior Colonel Yang Yujun, spokesperson for the Chinese defense ministry, said on Jan. 29 that the PLA Navy is ready to increase its activity in the Indian Ocean. In the future, the Chinese military will send different kinds of naval ships to take part in escort missions in accordance with the situation and need, Yang was quoted as saying by the UK-based IHS Jane's Defence Weekly.

Responding to concerns about the movements of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean, Yang said these are only "normal activities" of the PLA Navy and that not too much should be read into them. The Chinese military has sent various kinds of naval ships to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast to conduct escort missions since 2008, Yang said, adding that countries concerned had been notified of the PLA escort missions, which have included submarines.

Writing for the Diplomat, an English-language political website based in Tokyo, Prem Mahadevan from the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich said the PLA Navy may already be in the process of creating a fourth fleet which will ultimately consist of two carrier battle groups based in Hainan, the southern island province which is already home to the PLA's South Sea Fleet.

China at present has one aircraft carrier in service, a refitted Soviet-era vessel purchased from Ukraine that was commissioned in 2012, but is understood to be in the process of designing and building domestically constructed carriers which may enter service by 2020.

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-s...00047&cid=1101