Guangzhou and Haikou, two advanced destroyers of the Chinese Navy both deployed for anti-piracy mission near Somalia, perform a drill with a large supply vessel.(Photo Source: China Daily File Photo)

　　BEIJING, April 23 -- Strolling through the forest of steel, you cannot help but feel Qingdao is just another urbanizing Chinese city. But that all changes a few steps south, when the skyscrapers give way to a seemingly endless, blue sea gleaming under the sun.

　　"The sea of Qingdao looks best from here," said 37-year-old Pan Limin as he stood on the deck of the South Korean Navy's advanced destroyer KDS Gang Gam Chan.

　　The geology researcher was among the 3,000 locals who were given a chance to tour foreign warships moored at the Port of Qingdao yesterday morning.

　　As he looked on to the water, a philosophical Pan added: "The vast sea is extremely important for our nation to protect China's growing interests and national security.

　　"I hope the Chinese warships grow stronger and take us further out to the sea," he added as he snapped photos of his 6-year-old son and young nephew before stepping off the destroyer.

　　Today, the 5,500-ton vessel left the port and headed east to join the 20 warships from 14 countries to take part in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's first multi-national fleet review.

　　The grand parade has been hugely anticipated by those in China and foreign countries, while many experts said it would not just be a military display but also a strong message to the Chinese public, urging them not to overlook the nation's interests on the sea.

　　As for the rest of the world, around 90 percent of China's global trade relies on the ocean, making it of increasing strategic importance for a nation with a 18,000-km coastline.

(Photo Source: China Daily)

　　"The country's national interests overseas need to be protected with a strong navy," said Peng Guangqian, a Beijing-based strategist, on the eve of the PLA Navy's 60th anniversary today. "China needs a sustainable naval force that can always protect its expanding interests."

　　And as long as the people become aware of their interests offshore, the country will become a maritime power sooner or later, added Ni Lexiong, a political professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

　　But it has already taken centuries for the navy to come this far.

　　Boasting a vast land territory, river networks and affluent natural resources, leaders in ancient China used to think the country could sustain itself. Even after the seven voyages led 50,000 km to the west by legendary navigator Zheng He in the early 15th century, the "Middle Kingdom" never learned how to develop on the ocean.

　　Shortly after Zheng's adventures, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias sailed around the southern tip of Africa in 1488, opening a route to the east. The trade channel rules the world to this day.

　　Many historians still hold the ancient authorities that neglected China's maritime potential responsible for the "shameful" rule over China by western powers in modern times, claiming the failure to maintain its first modernized navy cost China dearly.

　　The Imperial Beiyang Fleet, established during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was said to be the "best navy in Asia" and the "eighth best in the world" in the late 1880s. But it was destroyed ships from Japan within six hours, partly because the Qing leaders were careless with the country's maritime security.

　　After the defeat, the commander even ordered the destruction of the fleet's 7,100-ton, flagship Dingyuan to prevent it being seized by the enemy. The armored turret ship was the biggest battleship in East Asia at that time and was still the largest combat vessel in China's recent naval history.

　　As a consequence of the defeat, China was forced to concede Taiwan to Japan and did not retrieve it until after World War II.

　　"Both our glory and shame arise from the sea," Read Admiral Zhang Deshun, Chinese Navy's deputy chief of staff, told China Daily. "I hope more Chinese will soon learn what the ocean means for their country."

　　In 2006, a 12-episode television documentary titled The Rise of Great Powers discussed how maritime-based western powers like Spain and the United Kingdom came into being. The shows ignited debate on whether China should also strengthen its protection of maritime interests.

　　"As a strategic force to guide the country's growth, the navy must be strengthened," said Rear Admiral Yang Yi, a senior military expert at the National Defense University in Beijing.

　　With this in mind, the PLA has offered consistent defense budgets to upgrade weapons and technologies in recent years, added Senior Colonel Li Jie, a researcher at the navy's Military Academy.

　　The bold move to send fleets to protect Chinese merchant vessels against Somali pirates last December has also caught the attention of the nation. It was the first overseas military combat mission for the navy since Zheng He's six centuries ago.

　　Netizens praised the efforts to protect national interests, even though the mission zone near Somalia is 5,000 nautical miles from China's shores.

　　A recent poll of more than 40,000 Chinese Internet users showed 90.4 percent were concerned with the disputes over maritime interests, while a similar survey showed more than 80 percent would like to see the Chinese Navy expanded.

　　The public has also been engaged in talks over the nation's first aircraft carrier, a plan suggested by the navy and Ministry of Defense. Tens of thousands of Chinese backed the idea, while about 80 percent of netizens in a web survey said they would happily donate their income towards the project.

　　"China can't develop without aircraft carriers. The ship is part of China's plan to reach further into the high seas in the near future," said Li Daguang, a weapons expert also with the National Defense University of the PLA.

　　Though the focus to hold firm in nearby waters remains, the message is clear that the country must rule the waves with more overseas missions in areas vital to China's foreign trade, analysts said.

　　
The Chinese navy's Great Wall 218 submarine docks at Qingdao port yesterday. It will join warships from China and other countries today to mark the 60th anniversary of the navy.(Photo Source: China Daily/Reuters)

　　Many used to see the PLA Navy as a floating coastal defense force, a "brown water navy", but that is no longer the case, explained Dr David M. Finkelstein, director of China studies at the US-based Center for Naval Analyses. He told China Daily: "Today, the PLA Navy is pushing further and further out to sea."

　　Commander Simon Brown, captain of the Australian Navy's HMAS Success tanker, which also celebrates its 23rd commission anniversary today, said China's naval growth is as normal as that of any other major power in the past.

　　"Certainly, China is changing from a coastal navy to a more regional navy. However, it is not just a navy that is growing, but a country that is growing, economically and externally," he said.

　　The historic anniversary is not just a reckoning of the past, but rather an opportunity for the navy in China and the country to evolve ideas on how to watch over its maritime interests, said Peng.

　　(Source: China Daily)


Chinese naval soldiers welcome the arrival of a Pakistani destroyer at the Qingdao port in east China's Shandong province, April 18, 2009.(Xinhua Photo)

LP-X Dokdo amphibious assault ship of South Korea arrives at No. 1 dock of Qingdao harbor in east China's Shandong Province April 20, 2009. Thus, all the foreign naval vessels to attend the international fleet review slated for April 23 have arrived in Qingdao. (Xinhua/Li Gang)