China
China's third aircraft carrier + US Influence in Asia
Dear reader,
Aircraft carriers are the ultimate naval instrument of power. They were battle-deciding high-tech weapons in World War II, but they still play a significant role today. For the People's Liberation Army, it was clear: If the US maintains an entire fleet of these powerful vessels, China needs them as well. Such is the logic of the arms race between superpowers.
While the US operates 19 of these giant ships by honest count (official numbers count 11), China is about to roll out its third aircraft carrier. The decisive factor here is the technological trend. Initial details of the third carrier already indicate that it has modern equipment equal to that of the US ships, writes our author team in Beijing. Further development is foreseeable. China will regularly launch new battleships. The US feels under pressure and is upgrading in turn. China's quest for equal strength is legitimate. However, in arms logic, this only leads to ever-higher spending with ever lower security.
Currently, however, the threat from Russia is more acute. Here, NATO boasts of having forged a broad alliance against Vladimir Putin's aggression. But how broad is the consensus really? Frank Sieren took a close look at the concrete results of US diplomacy after the President's trip to Asia. In fact, only Japan sides with the US and EU against Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. All the other nations do not want to commit themselves. Thus, the "global" alliance against Putin looks rather full of holes.
