Advertisement
Advertisement
China’s military
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
CSIC is building four Keris-class littoral mission ships for the Royal Malaysian Navy. Photo: Facebook

Chinese shipbuilder touts warships amid push to expand arms sales in Southeast Asia

  • Executive from state-owned CSIC meets defence officials from the Philippines and Indonesia in a week-long tour
  • Company launches the second of four patrol vessels being built for the Royal Malaysian Navy

A Chinese state-owned shipbuilder is promoting its warships in Southeast Asia as part of Beijing’s increased efforts to expand arms sales in the region.

As China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC) launched a second littoral mission ship – a large patrol vessel – for the Royal Malaysian Navy at its shipyard in central China last week, the company’s deputy general manager Wu Xiaoguang went on a week-long tour.

Wu visited the Philippines and Indonesia, meeting defence officials from the two countries, the company said in a statement titled, “Put [China’s] ‘going out’ strategy into practice and make great efforts to expand arms sales”.

According to the statement, Wu expressed an interest in cooperating with the Philippine navy when he met Jesus Avilla, the country’s assistant defence secretary.

In Indonesia, Wu discussed deepening the relationship with the defence ministry and navy during a meeting with a special envoy of the defence minister.

It came as CSIC launched the Sundang, the second of four Keris-class littoral mission ships being built by the company’s Wuchang shipyard in Wuhan, Hubei province for the Royal Malaysian Navy. The Sundang is expected to be delivered next year.

CSIC is China’s main warship manufacturer, responsible for retrofitting the unfinished Soviet vessel that became the Liaoning, the country’s first aircraft carrier.

CSIC is also building the nation’s first home-grown aircraft carrier, as well as nuclear-powered submarines. It will merge with another state-owned giant, China State Shipbuilding Corp, to form the world’s largest shipbuilder.

The littoral mission ship deal, signed in 2017 at a cost of 1.05 billion ringgit (US$254 million), has underscored China’s rising status as a key player in the arms market in Southeast Asia.

Thailand has increased its purchases from China, including of VN-1 armoured vehicles. Photo: Twitter

Apart from traditional buyer Myanmar, which bought US$1.3 billion worth of weapons from China from 2010 to 2018, Thailand has in recent years significantly increased its purchases of Chinese arms – from US$2 million in 2011 to US$131 million in 2017, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Indonesia has also spent tens of millions of dollars on Chinese weapons annually since 2012.

Chinese military supplies to Thailand include powerful VT-4 tanks, VN-1 armoured vehicles and an S-26T submarine. Myanmar, meanwhile, has purchased JF-17M fighter jets, 053H frigates, and air-defence missiles. China has also sold missiles, radars and a close-in weapons system for Indonesia’s warships.

Chinese navy tests new Z-20 helicopter for use on its warships

Beijing is also actively courting the Philippines, a traditional ally of the United States, by donating guns and ammunition, as well as patrol boats, to support President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on terror”.

In addition to the arms sales, the People’s Liberation Army has also strengthened ties with the militaries of the buyer countries. In October, China held a trilateral naval exercise with Thailand and Malaysia, and took part in its first joint exercise with Asean.

That was also the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ first such drill with an individual country and was followed by another exercise between Asean and the PLA Navy in April.

12 years behind bars for corrupt former boss of Chinese shipbuilder

But increased arms sales may not automatically translate into closer relationships with client countries, especially the Philippines, since some are in maritime or territorial disputes with China, according to Zhang Mingliang, who specialises in Southeast Asian studies at Jinan University in Guangzhou.

“Buying arms from China can be a measure to diversify their source of weapons and lower the defence cost, but that won’t reduce the existing negative factors in the relationships,” he said.

Post