By Song Xuechun in Qingdao and Qiu Wei in Beijing

China has been experiencing a sort of navy fever as of late. News of its navy’s 60th anniversary has made headlines across the country and been the talk of many news portals. 

In a sharp contrast to the usual low profile China keeps in regard to its military, the nation today is set to kick off a massive celebration of the 60th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.

The grand birthday party comes as people across the country call for a much larger, stronger Chinese naval presence.

And in that regard, experts are also dismissing foreign speculation about China’s intent, saying the ocean-going nation won’t use its increased might on water to settle maritime disputes with neighboring countries.

But today, the focus is on the four-day ceremony, which will see an unprecedented attendance of naval ships as well as senior officials from dozens of countries.

High-level seminars, a fleet parade and a sampan race are scheduled for the following days, according to sources close to the Chinese military. Naval officials and soldiers are also due to tour the vessels of other participating countries.

Yesterday saw the arrival – at the port of the eastern city of Qingdao – of a US Navy missile destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, and the landing vessel Garcia D’avila of the Brazilian navy. The sailing ship ARM Cuauhtemoc of the Mexican Navy, the destroyer Badr and supply ship Nasr of the Pakistani Navy arrived Saturday.

In all, 21 naval vessels from 14 countries, and delegations from 29 countries, planned to participate in the event, China’s National Defense Ministry said Saturday.

The officials in attendance include the US chief of naval operations and the Russian Navy commander-in-chief.

Stronger sea presence
China now boasts dozens of squadrons of destroyers, landing ships and supporting ships in its three fleets. The navy has several hundred combat ships larger than frigates, with a total tonnage equal to five times what the nation had in the 1980s.

Xin Yinghong of Qingdao told the Global Times yesterday that she felt proud her city was chosen to host such a large-scale sea parade.

"I do hope to watch the parade,” she said, “and a lot of my friends share my expectations.”

The government employee said her husband, a Navy lieutenant, was involved in the celebration preparation.

A Qingdao resident posted on sina.com that his apartment faces the marine parade area, and he looks forward to watching it from his balcony.

An online poll jointly conducted by qq.com and huanqiu.com indicated that 64.77 percent of the respondents don’t believe that China currently has a strong navy.

And 81.7 percent of those polled agreed that China should develop a blue-water navy, namely one that can carry out operations far offshore.

On sina.com, more than 1,000 comments had sprung up as of late yesterday.

And many military enthusiasts have started learning as much as they can about naval history, given that their country has such a strong desire to improve on that front.

"Respect to be earned by competitiveness”
Speaking ahead of his departure to Qingdao, US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead said yesterday in Beijing that he would like to know the full intentions of China’s naval buildup.

"I think it is important that as we enhance our naval capabilities, indeed any military capabilities, there should be clear communication as to what the intentions of that capability are,” he said.

Roughead, however, downplayed the worries of China’s intent to build an aircraft carrier. “The advent of an aircraft carrier on the part of the PLA Navy, to me, doesn’t really change the nature of our operations at all,” he said.

Rear Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong, at the National Defense University, told the Global Times yesterday that worries about China’s increasing naval strength are only natural.

Kozikov I. Andrevich, a professor at Moscow University, shared that view in telling the Global Times yesterday that China, as a big and powerful country, will inevitably arouse the suspicion of other Asian countries. But that shouldn’t be a key concern for China.

Zhang added that “China must develop its naval strength in its own way. The stronger you become, the more respect will be gained.”

Zhang also warned of the deficiencies of the Chinese Navy.

And his thinking was echoed by Bates Gill, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, who said that the Chinese Navy still lacks the experience of operating in the vast ocean, and it can only perform some relatively simple missions, such as conveying commercial ships.

But for the time being, according to one Chinese military expert, the nation should focus on the bigger picture of having such a strong navy. And the celebration starting today is a perfect way to get that message across to the people.

"The significance of this sea parade is to enlighten Chinese on the modern navy, whose major responsibilities should be ocean-going and ship convoy, instead of homeland protection,” PLA Air Forces Colonel Dai Xu said.