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Summary
The real naval race in East Asia has nothing to do with aircraft carriers and everything to do with amphibious warfare ships capable of expeditionary operations.
Summary
Few discussions of future naval developments in the Western Pacific these days fail to focus at least partially on the development of a Chinese aircraft carrier. But the real naval arms race in the region already is well under way -- the development of amphibious warships capable of expeditionary operations throughout the region. And China is falling behind, rather than gaining the lead.
Amphibious warfare ships are built to project land forces ashore. In the modern world, however, "force projection" often manifests itself more in humanitarian relief or peacekeeping operations than in full-on military interventions. Indeed, each of the amphibious warships discussed in this analysis has been justified at least in part by its capacity to assist in disaster relief efforts, like those following the December 2005 tsunami.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), the Republic of Korea Navy and the Royal Australian Navy have all moved to dramatically expand this capacity in the near future. Each is in the process of building or acquiring at least a pair of large amphibious warships in the 20,000-ton range -- roughly the size of the British Invincible-class carriers. All three will soon have the capacity to deploy anywhere in the region some two squadrons of helicopters and a handful of LCACs (a hovercraft designed to transport as much as a 60-ton tank ashore, awkwardly designated landing craft, air-cushion) as well as the troops, vehicles, equipment and supplies needed for a variety of expeditionary missions.
For these East Asian powers, the expansion is surprisingly symmetric. The lead ship of the new South Korean Dokdo class already is in the water, and will be followed by three more. Displacing 19,000 tons fully loaded, each will have the capacity to carry some 700 troops, 15 helicopters, two LCACs and dozens of vehicles and many tons of supplies.
Australia will finalize a choice between a variant of either the French Mistral class or the Spanish Strategic Projection Vessel in June. The smaller of the two is the Mistral -- a purpose-built amphibious warfare ship -- which is roughly equal in size and capacities to the Dokdo. The Spanish ship displaces as much as 27,000 tons and is geared more toward fixed-wing operations for the Spanish navy. As such, while its cargo capacity is comparable, it can only accommodate a single LCAC.
This is because of its shorter well deck, a floodable bay in the stern of the ship that can embark LCACs, more conventional landing craft and amphibious vehicles. Compared to the older method of lowering landing craft from davits over the side of the ship, more cargo can be transferred faster and in higher sea states from the cargo holds of the mother ship to the landing craft in the well. This design also enables the use of LCACs.
Though the two JMSDF helicopter destroyers, the 16DDH, now in the pipeline will not have well decks, they each will have a comparable capacity for helicopters. The new 16DDH class will instead complement the already-built three-ship Oosumi class -- each of which has space for two LCACs. Japan will not be at a disadvantage here. Indeed, while the 16DDH program is two years behind the South Korean Dokdo, the Oosumi ships already are in active service. If the 16DDH is successful, more are likely to be built.
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