On what have you based this strategic assessment?
1. India has an aircraft carrier (Old, but there are more on the way), CHina does not.
The current Indian Carrier is still in re-fit(as in not deployed) and it only has 14 obsolescent harriers due to lack of spare parts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_carrier#India
2. India’s fleet is more up to date, and better armed.
Not in terms of Fleet Air Defense (No Aegis style air-defense ships in IN, 5 of them in PLAN)
Not in terms of C4I (No AWACs or advanced Global Hawk style Drones or significant Space Assets for early detection of enemy fleets)
Not in terms of number and quality of maritime strike aircraft
Not in terms of ASW technologies.
Not in terms of overall numbers.
3. The Indian Navy has greater expertise in offshore operations.
This is likely the case.
4. India’s submarine fleet (though D-E), is more advanced than the CHinese.
China’s Kilos and Yuans are AIP enabled, Indian Kilos are not.
China has 4 times as many Submarines as India.
China has 9 nuclear SSNs and SSBNs commissioned, India has 1 under construction.
So how are the chinese fleets better?
Pretty obvious.
The INS Viraat left refit a month ago and it’s Harriers are getting an upgrade-Anyway it’s primary purpose will be fleet escort and ASW work, not attaining air superiority against any navy-it’s a job it can do with helicopters backed by land based fighters.
Where did you get the number of phased air radar equipped Chinese ships as five???Most sources put them at 2.And if they were so good, why did the PLAN build two older escort vessels equipped with the Russian Rif and not Chinese HQ-9??? And there is no conclusive proof that the PLAN has AIP equipped subs other than fan boy websites. And your assertion that each of China’s fleets is better than the whole Indian navy-well how many ships does the PLAN have deployed in the Indian Ocean??? None, because they also have to take care of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam and of course the US of A.
About Chinese bases in the IOR-there are NONE yet. Most Chinese “allies” in the region are a bunch of dirt poor states such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar which survive on Indian benevolence. The only real ally is Pakistan which is a failed state surviving on US and Saudi handouts.
Ok, again:
MAritime Strike Force:
What exactly is the PLAN’s capability in this area?
I know that the IAF has coastal defence capability based upon Mig-29’s and Jaguar IM’s.
Now tell me, what is the PLAN using for coastal defence?
And what maritime strike capability does the PLAN have? IN may have 14 carrier based harriers, and 1 carrier, but thats up against ZERO carrier based aircraft, and ZERO carriers for the PLAN.