China's Aerospace Power Trajectory in the Near Seas
Abstract
Air and aerospace power has been fundamental for defending Chinas nearseasencompassing the Bohai Gulf, the Yellow Sea, and the East and South China Seassince the founding of the Peoples Republic.1 While air and naval operations did not play a significant role in the Chinese Civil War, which was won by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), the victorious Communist forces were threatened immediately by hostile air and naval forces from the maritime sphere. In 1949 the regime was ill equipped to defend its eleven thousand miles of coastline and more than six thousand islands against attacks and harassment from Nationalist Chinese air and naval forces occupying the large islands of Taiwan and Hainan, as well as several smaller islands, let alone protect the People's Republic of China (PRC) against the aircraft carriers of the powerful U.S. Seventh Fleet. Even before the People's Republic was officially declared in October 1949,communist leaders immediately recognized the need for strong naval and air forces [truncated].
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- AD1001884
Entities
People
- Daniel J. Kostecka
Organizations
- Naval War College