I recommend www.sinodefence.com for freepers if they want to keep abreast of Chicom Defense matters. So far the submarines, destroyers and frigates being built are replacing the older Chinese warships and subs. They still have a long way to go to build a force projection navy. Example, no huge fleet of fleet replenishment ships with Refuelling At Sea (RAS) capabilities, aircraft carriers and nuclear attack subs. They only have a handful of ships with Standard type SAM and electronic arrays that can challenge even the Japanese Navy. The only thing the PLAN can achieve in the next 20 years is a navy capable of inflicting damage on the US fleet in a war to take Taiwan which is 90 miles off their shoreline. If China wants to build a navy to challenge the US with a GDP that is 1/6 the size of the US, she needs to concentrate on a huge nuclear sub force that will disrupt US shipping since we import most of our critical materials from overseas. I would pay very close attention to China's nuclear sub program because the new Chief of Staff of the Chinese Navy is a nuclear submariner. So far China needs Russian technical assistance to develop their first truly modern nuclear attack sub.
I post regularly there.
Several points. The chinese are not merely replacing their old units with these newer ones. What we find is that they continue to modernize many of their older units, like the Luda class. They have increased the number of major combatants by 72 vessels over the last five to six years...we have experienced a net loss.
They are putting together a blue water navy with new, modern DDGs, FFGs, and with new nuclear attack submarines. They are developing the vessels that will serve well in a CSG and I believe by 2--9 they will have one, and will probably bein building a couple of their own indigenous carries in that time frame as well.
Actually th PLAN is at sea replenishment capable, aas this picture attests.
...and they are building larger, more capable replishment ships as well. Two Qiandaohu were deliverd in the last couple of years.
I will grant that they are years away from a serious global challenge to the USN on their own...but in the Taiwan Straits they are getting closer and they are apt to bide their time as we continue to downsize and as we continue to get embroiled in many other areas (which we have to do), but which I am also convinced, considering their ties, that the PRC encourages.