China debuts new warship, boosts South Pacific presence

China has debuted yet another new warship built to launch amphibious landings in military exercises held this month.

China’s naval branch, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, announced it launched its fourth Type 075 Amphibious Assault Ship, CNS Hubei, during training exercises staged in the South China Sea.

The Type 075 was built to conduct amphibious landings. It can deploy troops from helicopters while offloading landing craft, tanks and armored vehicles from its interior.

The South Pacific has been the scene of skyrocketing tensions in recent months as China seeks to expand its maritime dominance — to the alarm of South Pacific nations.

On the heels of the new warship’s launch, China has deployed about 11 Coast Guard vessels to the Second Thomas Shoal in further aggressive maneuvers seemingly aimed at the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The Chinese vessels were seen “practicing the employment of water cannons” and were accompanied by military aircraft, according to Philippine military observers.

The launch of the warship in the South China Sea, along with the deployment of more vessels near the contested shoal, is part of an increasing pattern. China has been alarming Pacific nations with aggressive actions that have ramped up in the region for months.

Last September, China was roundly condemned by Pacific island nations for test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile over the area for the first time in decades.

In February, commercial flights over Australia were diverted on short notice when China abruptly announced it intended to conduct live-fire drills from vessels sailing in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.

“This was very disconcerting for the planes that were flying, but they were able to divert,” Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Recently, China has targeted Philippine vessels with water cannons to chase them away from uninhabited shoals in the South Pacific. One such aggressive chase resulted in two Chinese vessels crashing into each other earlier this month.

The sharp increase in Chinese military presence in the South Pacific prompted Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to declare last month that a Chinese military base in the Pacific Islands would be unwelcome .

Fears about a new military base follow the April opening of Ream Naval Base in Cambodia, funded by China, and over which Chinese officials co-presided. The base was renovated for expanding the presence of warships in the South Pacific, although Cambodia has claimed the bolstered naval base is for friendly purposes.

The U.S. Department of Defense has made defense of allies in the Indo-Pacific a top strategic priority. This year marked the first time that Exercise Talisman Sabre, an annual joint military exercise between the U.S. and Australia, took place outside of Australia.

The exercise saw unprecedented teamwork between forces from the U.S., Republic of Korea, France, Germany, U.K., Australia and Papua New Guinea, the U.S. Navy said, and was the largest of its kind to date .

Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.

中国在本月举行的军事演习中，又推出了一艘用于两栖登陆作战的新型军舰。

中国人民解放军海军宣布，在南海举行的训练演习中，其第四艘075型两栖攻击舰“湖北”号下水。

075型两栖登陆艇是为执行两栖登陆任务而设计的。它能够从直升机上投放部队，同时从其内部卸载登陆艇、坦克和装甲车辆。

近几个月来，南太平洋地区紧张局势急剧升级，中国寻求扩大其海上主导地位，这引起了南太平洋国家的警惕。

在新型军舰下水后不久，中国向仁爱礁部署了约11艘海警船，进一步采取挑衅性行动，其目标似乎在​​于菲律宾武装部队。据菲律宾军事观察员称，这些中国船只被目击“演练使用水炮”，并有军用飞机伴随。

中国在南海部署军舰，并向争议岛礁附近增派舰艇，这只是中国一系列日益频繁的举动的一部分。几个月来，中国在该地区不断升级的咄咄逼人行动令太平洋岛国感到不安。

去年9月，中国数十年来首次在太平洋岛国上空试射洲际弹道导弹，遭到太平洋岛国的强烈谴责。

今年2月，中国突然宣布计划在澳大利亚和新西兰之间的塔斯曼海进行实弹演习，导致飞越澳大利亚的商业航班临时改道。

澳大利亚国防部长理查德·马尔斯告诉澳大利亚广播公司：“这对正在飞行的飞机来说非常令人不安，但他们能够改道。”

近期，中国在南太平洋使用水炮驱赶菲律宾船只，使其远离无人居住的浅滩。本月初，一次类似的激进驱赶导致两艘中国船只相撞。

中国在南太平洋的军事存在急剧增加，促使斐济总理西蒂韦尼·拉布卡上个月宣布，斐济不欢迎中国在太平洋岛屿建立军事基地。

继今年4月柬埔寨云壤海军基地启用后，人们对新建军事基地的担忧日益加剧。该基地由中国出资兴建，并由中国官员共同主持。尽管柬埔寨方面声称扩建后的海军基地是出于友好目的，但此次启用旨在扩大其在南太平洋的军舰部署。

美国国防部已将印太地区盟友的安全保障列为首要战略要务。今年是美澳年度联合军事演习“护身军刀”首次在澳大利亚境外举行。

美国海军表示，此次演习体现了美国、韩国、法国、德国、英国、澳大利亚和巴布亚新几内亚军队之间前所未有的团队合作，也是迄今为止规模最大的同类演习。

齐塔·巴林格·弗莱彻曾任《军事史季刊》和《越南》杂志的编辑，以及美国缉毒署的历史学家。她拥有军事史硕士学位（成绩优异）。