Chinese President Xi Jinping personally commissioned three main battle warships into the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy on April 23, according to accounts in the Chinese media. The ceremony was meant to send a message: “The unprecedented, concentrated warship commissioning represents the rapid development of the PLA Navy and Chinese shipbuilding industry amid the grave military struggle pressure China is facing,” Global Times commented.
The ships included a nuclear-powered strategic ballistic missile submarine, a large destroyer, and the country’s first Type 075 amphibious assault ship. The submarine reportedly has “enhanced capabilities in noise reduction and missile attack accuracy, giving China even more credible nuclear deterrence with further improved nuclear retaliation capability, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Saturday….
“China now has more strategic submarines on alert and can cover more time periods, leading to enhanced nuclear counterattack capability, another Chinese military expert told the Global Times, requesting anonymity.” (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202104/1221970.shtml)
