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In last month’s International Navies Issue, “China: Emerging Sea Power” discussed China’s maritime modernization program and pictured Secretary of the Navy John Lehman visiting the P.R.C. Navy. This spring, U. S. Navy ships will visit China for the first time since 1949.
Many of the P.R.C. Navy’s ships are of old designs built in large numbers. “Hainan”-class subchasers, top, “Romeo”-class submarines, above, and “Osa-I”-class missile boats, right, have been built by the Chinese since the early 1960s. Examples of the “Hainans” and the “Romeos” have been exported to Egypt and North Korea.
In addition to its surface combatants, like the CSS-N-1 antiship missilearmed “Jianghu”-class frigate (number 514) pictured bottom, the P.R.C. Navy has many classes of special purpose ships like the “Yuling”-class large utility landing craft, left, and the 10,975-ton submarine rescue ship, below, with one of her two submersibles clearly visible on the deck abaft the handling crane.
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