The sinking of the Moskva has caused some concern for the Chinese Navy as well as for Chinese president Xi Jinping. An analysis by Katsuji Nakazawa for Nikkei Asia outlines that China’s worries concern Liaoning – its primary aircraft carrier – as it is made from remnants of the Soviet-made aircraft carrier Varyag.
The concern stems from the fact that if Varyag’s armour is based on former Soviet standards like the Moskva then it would become a liability for Beijing if it decides to take Taiwan by force.
China has not discounted the possibility that in the future it might use military force to reunite Taipei with Beijing. In that case, the drowning of the Moskva using US-made anti-ship Neptune missiles and Turkish-made Bayraktar drones could lead to concerns for the Chinese president Xi Jinping who aims to modernise the Chinese PLA within this decade.
A person familiar with the development told Nikkei Asia that the Moskva sinking risks making Chinese vessels, especially the Liaoning, look like ‘paper tigers’.
The report says that the Liaoning was constructed using scraps from the Varyag after a dummy company linked to the Chinese military bought it from the Ukrainians who stripped it off its various pieces of equipment. The Chinese used the scrap to give their Navy the first aircraft carrier Liaoning which was then commissioned in 2012 and remains one of China’s greatest assets.
Both Vayrag and Moskva were built in Soviet-ruled Ukraine in the Mykolaiv shipping port in modern-Ukraine. China also bought the Kiev and the Minsk aircraft carriers to conduct research to develop and build their own aircraft carriers. Chinese engineers reverse-engineered these aircraft carriers and using the know-how also developed their own systems.
The Kiev aircraft carrier was discarded by the Chinese Navy and now sits as a display at an amusement park in Tianjin. The Liaoning, however, remains a key asset for the Chinese Navy and it often sails in the Taiwanese straits and their other vessels have been accused of using intimidation tactics towards other vessels and planes – with Australia accusing China earlier this year of shining a laser at one of its surveillance planes.
In case a fight breaks out between Taiwan and China, the Liaoning will be summoned to lead the charge via the seas and take on an important role during such an event. If it has similar armoury like the Moskva, the Chinese Navy could be dealt a heavy blow using anti-ship missiles which the US will likely supply Taiwan with.
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