Tension In Asia As China Flexes Muscles

The Chinese Navy launched a new destroyer on Wednesday at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. The People's Liberation Army Navy claimed that the 10,000-tonne domestically designed and produced vessel is the first of the Asian giant's new generation of destroyers.

In a statement, the Navy said that the deadly vessel, equipped with new air defence, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, would certainly improve its armament system that is necessary to build a strong and modern Navy. Li Jie, a researcher with the PLA Naval Military Academic Research Institute, explained that the newly launched vessel, dubbed the 'Type 055' class, would weigh 13,000 tonnes when fully fitted out with its weapon systems. "Type 055 guided-missile destroyer carries medium-long-range and medium-short range air-defence missiles, which can significantly improve its overall air defence capability...