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Junaid Kathju

India, Japan and South Korea are bolstering their naval capabilities to counter growing Chinese influence in the region, analysts say, after China launched its new Fujian aircraft carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults that can deploy fighters more frequently.
China currently operates two aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong. It launched the Fujian, a next-generation 80,000-tonne aircraft carrier larger than those operated by India or Japan, last month.
By the end of 2035, China aims to have six aircraft carriers – making it the world’s second-largest blue-water navy after the United States, which currently has an 11-strong carrier fleet.

Former Indian naval officer C. Uday Bhaskar said China’s assertiveness was putting pressure on Asian nations to build out their naval capabilities.
“China is seen as a source of anxiety by some Asian nations, including India. There is concern about China’s revisionist agenda and this can rapidly morph into a threat ,” Bhaskar said.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh last month said India would soon commence building its third aircraft carrier. Analysts say a third aircraft carrier is essential for the Indian navy to match China’s capabilities.
Bhaskar, a director at the New Delhi-based Society for Policy Studies think tank and an honorary fellow of India’s National Maritime Foundation, said Japan and South Korea were seeking ways to engage Beijing to establish a practical and peaceful coexistence.
“These nations see their navies as insurance for the long term, if they decide to go down that path [engage in a war].”

Japan in April unveiled upgrades to its first aircraft carrier the Kaga that entered service in 2017 as a helicopter carrier, but has now been upgraded to carry Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters.
The Kaga will undergo a second round of modifications to its hull in 2026-27 to help support its role as a carrier of fixed-wing warplanes.
Kaga’s sister ship Izumo, commissioned in 2015, will also be modified in a process expected to finish in 2027. The two ships were commissioned as helicopter carriers that could be upgraded to carry fixed-wing fighters if needed.
After the upgrade, both ships will be able to carry 12 fighters and 16 helicopters.
South Korea announced plans to build its first aircraft carrier to operate F-35B jets with short take-off and vertical landing capabilities, in its 2021-2025 national plan.
Its plans have been delayed since, and the aircraft carrier project did not feature in its 2024-2028 midterm defence blueprint but was mentioned as a future project based on ongoing research results expected early next year.


Alexander Hynd, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, said there were ongoing debates in some Asian countries about the extent of their investment in aircraft carrier programmes.
“Despite advances in anti-ship and anti-aircraft defence systems, aircraft carriers are still one of the biggest contemporary symbols of military power, and the ability to project that power,” said Hynd, whose research focuses on foreign policy strategies of medium-sized nations in the Indo-Pacific.
The US has historically provided naval power in the US-South Korea alliance, expecting South Korea to focus on land-based military capabilities, Hynd said.
This pursuit of aircraft carriers appears driven more by a desire for prestige and the trappings of great power status rather than purely military utility
Walter Ladwig, King’s College London
Walter Ladwig, a senior international-relations lecturer at King’s College London, said the symbolic value of aircraft carriers could bolster a country’s regional and global influence.
“If countries were feeling seriously threatened, there would be a massive expansion of submarine acquisition programmes across Asia. This pursuit of aircraft carriers appears driven more by a desire for prestige and the trappings of great power status rather than purely military utility,” Ladwig said.
“The US is the leading naval power in the world. China’s attempts to emulate the US reflects a desire to be seen as quasi-peers on the global stage, enhancing their international standing.”


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China’s new aircraft carrier pushes India, Japan, South Korea to upgrade: ‘source of anxiety’

A Chinese flag flutters in the wind near China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, as it prepares to set out from Shanghai. Photo: AP

China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, conducts maiden sea trials last month. Photo: AP

Japan's newly upgraded carrier Kaga is seen at Kure base in Hiroshima prefecture in April. Photo: Kyodo

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An Aegis Ashore missile defence system. Photo: Kyodo

Military personnel participate in a Nato training exercise on board the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth off the coast of Portugal in 2021. Photo: AP

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Chinese coastguard ships deploy water cannons at a Philippine vessel during a supply mission in March to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Photo: AFP

Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah review an honour guard in Bandar Seri Begawan on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

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Chinese Premier Li Qiang speaks at the eighth business summit among China, Japan and South Korea, in Seoul. Photo: Xinhua

(From left) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang attend the business summit at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul. Photo: Reuters

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This Week in Asia

Politics

News

Asia

South Asia

East Asia

China launched its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, last month and aims to have six carriers by the end of 2035
A former Indian naval officer says China’s assertiveness at sea is putting pressure on other Asian nations to strengthen their naval capabilities


China’s assertiveness at sea is putting pressure on other Asian nations to strengthen their naval capabilities, analysts say.


Defence

Japan

South Korea

China’s new aircraft carrier pushes India, Japan, South Korea to upgrade: ‘source of anxiety’

China launched its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, last month and aims to have six carriers by the end of 2035 A former Indian naval officer says China’s assertiveness at sea is putting pressure on other Asian nations to strengthen their naval capabilities

China launched its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, last month and aims to have six carriers by the end of 2035

A former Indian naval officer says China’s assertiveness at sea is putting pressure on other Asian nations to strengthen their naval capabilities