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While I don't doubt that the PLA will be operating carriers in the future, these three mid-sized carriers they're talking about would not be sufficient to take on the USN's 12 fleet carriers. Then their assumption that one carrier, which based upon the figure of an option for 48-50 flankers wouldn't be operating more than 20 if there's going to be three of them, would be sufficient to pose a threat to the RCAF or, indeed, the RAAF, RSAF and JASDF, who, lacking carriers as we all may be, would still be quite able to redeploy our land based planes to defend the land areas the article is talking about, especially the Indonesian territories.
And yeah, then there's the subs, about which Japan and particularly Korea are planning to get serious, and there's our Collins Class boats, as well as of course the USN's fleet of nuclear powered hunter killers, which are I would assume the ultimate threat to any surface vessel.
Essentially, while no one wants a war with China, not even we would be prepared to let them muscle our allies without a fight, and I seriously doubt the USA would either. The other point I guess this raises is, will the JMSDF and ROKN counter by building carriers and a greater power projection capability as a whole, something I'd hope they both will do anyway.
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