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Article: Distant horizons; China's navy.(China flaunts its naval muscle)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- April 25, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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If you've got muscle, flaunt it
WITH an unprecedented display of its rapidly growing naval armoury, China has flaunted its ambitions as a global power. To mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Chinese leaders on April 23rd reviewed a maritime parade of hardware ranging from nuclear submarines to amphibious assault-craft and fighter bombers. The only missing ingredient of naval might was an aircraft-carrier. Officials hint it will not be long before China has some of these too.
Ten years ago, the PLAN's 50th anniversary slipped by with little more than a few commemorative stamps and plenty of bunting. But ...