Imaginemos nueve grupos de combate de portaaviones chinos proyectando poder a nivel mundial mientras presionan simultáneamente a sus rivales en zonas marítimas clave y puntos conflictivos como el Estrecho de Taiwán, el Mar de China Meridional y el Pacífico Occidental.
Considerada durante mucho tiempo como una ambición máxima de Pekín, esto podría hacerse realidad mucho antes de lo previsto.
El mes pasado, el Pentágono reveló que Pekín pretende construir seis portaaviones adicionales para 2035. La construcción del primero de ellos, el primer portaaviones de propulsión nuclear de China, aparentemente ya está en marcha, lo que podría permitir a la armada más grande del mundo desplegar su poderío militar en cualquier parte del mundo y mantener una presencia sostenida en aguas estratégicamente importantes. Junto con los avances tecnológicos del país y sus rápidas tasas de producción industrial, esta creciente flota de combate también podría permitir a Beijing mantener a raya a las fuerzas estadounidenses, japonesas y aliadas en una crisis militar en el Indo-Pacífico, advierten los expertos, un escenario que ya está impulsando a Washington, Tokio y otros a repensar su postura de defensa.
Fuente: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/15/asia-pacific/chinese-naval-power-analysis/
CHINESE NAVY’S GOAL OF PROYECTING POWER AROUND GLOBE GAINS STEAM
Imagine nine Chinese carrier battle groups projecting power across the globe while simultaneously pressuring rivals across key maritime areas and flashpoints such as the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and the Western Pacific.
Long thought to be an ultimate ambition of Beijing, this may become a reality much sooner than anticipated.
Last month, the Pentagon revealed that Beijing aims to build six additional aircraft carriers by 2035. Construction of the first of these, China’s first nuclear-powered carrier, is apparently already under way, potentially enabling the world’s largest navy to display military might anywhere in the world and maintain a sustained presence in strategically important waters.
Coupled with the country’s technological leaps and rapid industrial production rates, this growing combat fleet could also enable Beijing to keep U.S., Japanese and allied forces at bay in a military crisis in the Indo-Pacific, experts warn — a scenario that is already driving Washington, Tokyo and others to rethink their defense posture.
“A nine-carrier navy would not simply make China’s fleet larger; it would give Beijing a qualitatively different tool for global power projection, moving the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy much closer to the ‘world-class’ objectives its leadership seeks,” said Christopher Sharman, director of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the U.S. Naval War College.
Each carrier would deploy as the core of a strike group, accompanied by cruisers, destroyers, logistics ships, and potentially submarines, extending China’s ability to control airspace, protect its surface forces and apply pressure around flashpoints.
At the same time, the carrier groups would complicate U.S. and allied forces’ ability to intervene in a potential crisis in the “first island chain,” which runs from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo.
In a conflict over Taiwan, for instance, Chinese carriers could deploy east of the self-ruled island to block or delay U.S. reinforcements. The carriers are, however, unlikely to be used as front-line strike platforms, not just because of how difficult it would be to protect them, but also because China’s missile capabilities and its scores of airbases along its eastern coast would be much more effective.
“What China has lacked is the capacity to generate persistent, long-range airpower at sea, and that is where a force of up to nine aircraft carriers, if truly operationalized, would be transformative,” Sharman said, noting that his comments reflect his personal opinion and not necessarily those of his employer.
Fielding nine carriers also means that China could expect to have at least three deployed at all times, depending on whether the country’s navy follows U.S. naval deployment patterns and how well it does with maintenance, overhaul and crew training.
Such a quasi-permanent deployment would undoubtedly increase the likelihood of encounters with U.S. and allied forces.
China’s conventional carriers are likely to be used in East Asia, likely into the western Pacific, while China would use its nuclear-powered contingent to sustain a presence farther out in the Indian Ocean and into the Middle East.
Sean O’Connor, an imagery analyst with defense intelligence company Janes, explained that nuclear power provides carriers with additional internal space for weapons, aviation fuel and hangar space, using areas that would otherwise be dedicated to storing fuel for a conventional powerplant.
Such carriers, of which the U.S. Navy operates 11, also have significantly greater range, allowing operations to be conducted farther afield.
“The limiting factors become the additional provisions stored aboard, such as aviation fuel, spares, weapons and perishable food, all of which must be replenished at sea,” O’Connor said.
As China becomes more assertive, the strength of its navy is not just being measured by its ability to project power. Key to the Chinese Navy’s growth as a “blue-water” force is also how fast the fleet is growing both in numbers and capabilities.
According to a report by the U.S Congressional Research Service, the Chinese Navy’s overall battle force stood at about 395 warships last year, compared with 296 for the U.S. Navy, and is expected to reach 435 ships by 2030, compared with 294 for the U.S.
On the submarine front, Chinese production dominance is even more pronounced, with the country’s navy commissioning between 14 and 18 subs over the past six years, including advanced nuclear-powered models, according to Intellinews.
This is more than the combined production of the U.S., Japan and South Korea over the same time period. That said, Washington still operates far more nuclear-powered subs, with 71, than China, which has about 32.
While U.S. Navy vessels are more advanced and its commanders far more experienced, China’s advantage in numbers would allow it to bring more firepower to a fight. Add to this China’s shorter supply lines and ongoing efforts to convert commercial cargo vessels into auxiliary warships, and the challenge becomes even more formidable.
“We are very concerned with this, not because we think the PLA is better than our forces on a one-to-one basis but because of China’s overpowering industrial advantage,” said James Holmes, a maritime strategy expert at the U.S. Naval War College.
“Much as the U.S. did during World War II, China can produce mountains of good-enough platforms and weapons while we depend on fewer top-quality platforms and weapons,” he noted, while indicating that these views are his own and don’t necessarily reflect those of his employer.
At some point, Holmes added, “mass becomes the decisive factor in combat.”
Then there is China’s growing air power.
The Chinese Navy and Air Force have seen a dramatic increase in the number of highly capable aircraft, including fourth- and fifth-generation fighters, that have entered service since 2020.
On top of this, production has begun of land-based and carrier-borne variants of the fifth-generation J-35, and China has begun flying two demonstrators for next-gen crewed combat aircraft. It has also been developing an arsenal to go along with those fighters meant to achieve aerial supremacy.
But arguably the country’s greatest advances have been made in the field of drones. China has been testing several models such as a drone mothership, a large tiltrotor aircraft and the combat GJ-11. A naval variant of the latter is expected to operate from the navy’s Type 076 warships. This new type of amphibious assault vessel, set to enter service either this year or next, features an electromagnetic aircraft launch system for larger, fixed-wing drones, potentially enabling China to overwhelm an enemy’s air defenses, even without adequate numbers of trained pilots.
This could have implications for both Tokyo and Taipei. By enabling reconnaissance, electronic warfare and limited strikes without risking manned aircraft, the Type 076 represents an “asymmetric means for China to attack both Taiwan and Japan’s southwestern islands through short-term, high-intensity operations,” said Masashi Murano, a defense expert at the Hudson Institute think tank.
Observers point out that China’s recent military technology breakthroughs are not isolated successes, but rather evidence of a focused and well-resourced campaign to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s goal of having a military capable of achieving a decisive victory in a conflict over Taiwan by 2027.
“Advances in anti-ship ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, long-range cruise missiles and related sensing and targeting systems are designed not only to strike Taiwan, but to hold U.S. and allied forces at risk if they attempt to intervene,” Sharman said.
FUERZA ARMADAS CHINAS DESPLIEGAN RED DE ESPÍAS EN TAIWÁN PARA PLANIFICAR EJERCICIO MILITARES
Taiwán se enfrenta a un problema interno de magnitud, mientras sus oficiales buscan desmantelar una siempre creciente red de espías que trabajan para las Fuerzas Armadas de China en la recolección de información sensible. Esta inteligencia, que abarca a miembros de las fuerzas armadas y de las distintas ramas del gobierno, luego permite al régimen de Xi Jinping planificar ejercicios militares como la imponente “Mission Justice 2025” que representó un bloqueo de la isla.
La multiplicidad de casos conocidos de personas del ejército o el gobierno de Taipéi que han sido juzgadas bajo la Ley de Seguridad Nacional de Taiwán da una idea de la magnitud de la operación montada desde Pekín: sólo en 2024 se registraron 64 procesos. El perfil de los condenados muestra lo cerca del poder taiwanés que China recolecta inteligencia. En septiembre de 2025, un consejero cercano al presidente Lai Ching-te fue condenado a cuatro años de prisión por compartir detalles de sus itinerarios con el gobierno chino.
Las filtraciones abarcan tanto al actual oficialismo del Partido Democrático Progresista como al Kuomintang, que actualmente está en la oposición, pero guarda una simbología importante para la isla en tanto fueron sus miembros, encabezados por Chiang Kai-Shek, quienes fundaron la denominada República de China en Taiwán en 1949, tras ser derrotados en el territorio continental por los comunistas de Mao Zedong. Sin embargo, actualmente este partido es más cercano a la idea de la “reunificación” con Pekín, y más temprano este año dos funcionarios de segunda línea pertenecientes al partido fueron arrestados por sospechas de colaborar con China.
China podría conocer las debilidades militares de Taiwán a través de su red de espionaje
La preocupación también es palpable en el ejército, donde China recluta soldados y oficiales que favorecen la causa de la reunificación nacional o que están fuertemente endeudados, desesperación que los funcionarios de la potencia asiática explotan prometiendo préstamos a cambio de información sensible.
Así le ocurrió por ejemplo a Chen Yimin, un sargento de la marina taiwanesa, que en medio de una difícil situación financiera se encontró con una publicidad online de un préstamo del gobierno chino a cambio de producir y recolectar inteligencia. Al aceptar la propuesta, el marino se dedicó durante un año a descargar e imprimir documentos secretos de las bases de datos militares y a tomar fotos de las bases en las que rotaba. En 2023, tras ser detenido, fue juzgado bajo la Ley de Seguridad Nacional y condenado a dos años de prisión.
La inteligencia recolectada por Yimin y otros conscriptos -algunos de los cuales, se presume, siguen operativos- podría dar a conocer a Beijing los planes militares de Taiwán para defenderse de una eventual invasión china. En una entrevista con el medio británico The Telegraph, el analista Nathan Atrill del Australian Stategic Policy Institute graficó la importancia de esta información para la defensa de la isla: “Cada filtración hace que la capacidad disuasoria de Taiwán se vea cada vez más delgada desde la perspectiva de Beijing. Si China conoce los tiempos de movilización de Taiwán, su cobertura de radar o los diseños de comando y control, puede diseñar un ataque que explote estas debilidades desde el primer minuto”.
Una muestra de las capacidades que su aparato de espionaje proporciona a China se vio en los ejercicios militares “Mission Justice 2025”, que en los últimos días de diciembre representó un bloqueo de la isla utilizando unidades navales, aéreas, del ejército y de misiles. Allí, los navíos chinos realizaron ejercicios con fuego real. En el caso de una eventual invasión, la filtración china del aparato militar y político de Taiwán podría apuntar esos cañones a objetivos ya definidos, un punto a favor de las ambiciones de reunificación que Pekín proclama.
CHINA’S ARMED FORCES DEPLOY SPY NETWORK IN TAIWAN TO PLAN MILITARY EXCERCISES
Taiwan faces a major internal problem as its officials seek to dismantle an ever-growing network of spies working for China’s armed forces to gather sensitive information. This intelligence, which encompasses members of the armed forces and various branches of government, then allows Xi Jinping’s regime to plan military exercises like the imposing “Mission Justice 2025,” which effectively amounted to a blockade of the island.
The numerous known cases of Taipei military and government personnel being tried under Taiwan’s National Security Law give an idea of the scale of the operation orchestrated from Beijing: 64 trials were recorded in 2024 alone. The profiles of those convicted illustrate how closely China gathers intelligence from Taiwanese power structures. In September 2025, a close advisor to President Lai Ching-te was sentenced to four years in prison for sharing details of his travel itineraries with the Chinese government.
The leaks involve both the current ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang, which is currently in opposition.
GIGANTESCO BUQUE DE GUERRA REFUERZA CAPACIDADES ANTISUBMARINAS DE CHINA: PUEDE TRANSPORTAR SISTEMA DE SONAR Y OPERAR DOS HELICÓPTEROS
En el entrenamiento participó el destructor Zunyl, que simuló un enfrentamiento contra un submarino enemigo
La Armada de China está reforzando notablemente sus capacidades antisubmarinas con el destructor Tipo 055, un gigantesco buque de guerra cuyo tamaño y diseño permiten integrar sistemas avanzados de detección, así como operar dos helicópteros especializado, un salto cualitativo que se pudo apreciar durante un reciente ejercicio militar realizado en el Mar de China Meridional.
De acuerdo al portal Interesting Engineering, en el entrenamiento participó el destructor Zunyl, que simuló un enfrentamiento contra un submarino enemigo, en ese sentido, el buque asumió funciones clave como la detección, el seguimiento y la alerta temprana, además de compartir información en tiempo real con otras unidades del grupo de combate para coordinar las operaciones conjuntas.
Uno de los factores decisivos del Tipo 055 es su gran desplazamiento, que le permite transportar sofisticados sistemas de sonar, entre los que se incluyen sonares montados en la proa y sonares remolcados con la capacidad de localizar submarinos a mayores distancias y con un nivel de precisión superior al de generaciones anteriores.
Un destructor que se ha fortalecido
Analistas militares señalan que este destructor ya no está enfocado exclusivamente en la defensa aérea o el combate de superficie, pues su rol antisubmarino se ha fortalecido de forma sostenida gracias a entrenamientos frecuentes, planificación detallada y evaluaciones exhaustivas tras cada ejercicio, lo que ha ampliado su versatilidad operativa.
Además, el Tipo 055 puede operar dos helicópteros antisubmarinos, lo que incrementa significativamente su alcance de vigilancia y su capacidad de respuesta rápida. En este sentido, el escenario del ejercicio fue el Mar de China Meridional por ofrecer una compleja geografía submarina e intensa actividad bajo el agua, condiciones que hacen que las prácticas sean más realistas y exigentes.
Fuente: https://www.eluniverso.com/estados-unidos/estilo-de-vida/capacidades-antisubmarinas-de-china-nota/
GIANT WARSHIP BOOSTS CHINA’S ANTI-SUBMARINE CAPABILITIES: CAN CARRY SONAR SYSTEMS AND OPERATE TWO HELICOPTERS
The destroyer Zunyl participated in the training exercise, simulating an engagement with an enemy submarine.
The Chinese Navy is significantly strengthening its anti-submarine capabilities with the Type 055 destroyer, a gigantic warship whose size and design allow for the integration of advanced detection systems, as well as the operation of two specialized helicopters. This qualitative leap was evident during a recent military exercise in the South China Sea.
According to the Interesting Engineering website, the destroyer Zunyl participated in the training exercise, simulating an engagement with an enemy submarine. The ship assumed key functions such as detection, tracking, and early warning, in addition to sharing real-time information with other units in the battle group to coordinate joint operations.
One of the decisive factors of the Type 055 is its large displacement, which allows it to carry sophisticated sonar systems, including bow-mounted and towed sonars with the ability to locate submarines at greater distances and with a level of accuracy superior to that of previous generations.
Published twice per week by Nuevo Poder. Articles and op-eds focusing on geopolitical issues around Indo-Pacific area
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