{
  "id": "RL30700",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30700",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 102002,
      "date": "2001-11-06",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:19:29.568941",
      "title": "China's Foreign Conventional Arms Acquisitions: Background and Analysis",
      "summary": "This CRS Report examines the major, foreign conventional weapon systems that China has\nacquired\nor has committed to acquire since 1990, with particular attention to implications for U.S. security\nconcerns. It is not the assumption of this report that China's military, the People's Liberation Army\n(PLA), will engage in conflict with other forces in Asia. Nonetheless, since the mid-1990s, there\nhas been increasing concern about China's assertiveness in Asia and military buildup against\nTaiwan.\n  Since 1990, China has acquired or sought to acquire select types and modest quantities of\nmodern foreign weapons, primarily from Russia. These include: Mi-17 helicopters, Il-76 transports,\nSu-27 fighters, S-300 surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, Kilo submarines, Tor-M1 SAM\nsystems, Sovremenny destroyers (with Sunburn anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs)), A-50 airborne\nwarning and control systems (AWACS) (Israeli Phalcon system canceled in 2000), and Su-30 long-\nrange fighters.\n  The Su-27 and Su-30 represent significant upgrades in fighter aircraft capability over China's\nindigenous aircraft. The combination of the PLA's imported AA-11 air-to-air missile and highly\nmaneuverable aircraft could prove a vexing air-to-air challenge to modern fighter aircraft of other\nforces in Asia. The Russian SAMs represent marked improvements in China's ability to target\naircraft and missiles that threaten its airspace. Nonetheless, the PLA's ability to employ its modern\nacquisitions is hampered by factors such as limited inventory, deficient maintenance, inadequate\npilot training, outdated air doctrine, rigid command, disparate communications, and lack of\nsupporting capabilities in the near term.\n  China's navy has been primarily a coastal defense force built around ships based largely on\nolder or obsolete Soviet technology. China's two Sovremenny-class ships are considerably more\ntechnologically modern, complex, and capable than most other PLA surface combatants. The SS-N-\n22/Sunburn anti-ship cruise missile, designed to defeat the U.S. Navy's Aegis air-defense system,\nis considered by many to be the most threatening ship-launched ASCM in service today. Still,\nChina's Sovremenny-class ships, though fairly capable, would be vulnerable to air and submarine\nattack. Although much attention has been paid to China's procurement of Sovremenny-class ships\narmed with SS-N-22s, the four quiet Kilos, with their potential for avoiding detection and their\npotent torpedoes, might represent a greater threat to naval forces in Asia. If well-maintained and\nproficiently-operated, the PLA Navy's Kilo-class submarines can launch attacks against ships and\nsubmarines operating in the region. Kilos are, nevertheless, vulnerable to detection and attack.\n  China has made some significant qualitative upgrades through foreign acquisitions, but it\nremains to be seen how these acquisitions will be expanded and linked to other PLA improvements. \nThe operational significance of China's conventional arms acquisitions will also depend on the\nPLA's training to eventually conduct effective joint military operations and the scenario in which\nthe systems might be used. These developments in PLA modernization will bear watching.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs1357/",
      "id": "RL30700 2000-10-10",
      "date": "2000-10-10",
      "retrieved": "2005-06-12T17:03:37",
      "title": "China's Foreign Conventional Arms Acquisitions: Background and Analysis",
      "summary": "This report examines the major, foreign conventional weapon systems that China has acquired or has committed to acquire since 1990, with particular attention to implications for U.S. security concerns. It is not the assumption of this report that China\u2019s military, the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA), will engage in conflict with other forces in Asia. Nonetheless, since the mid-1990s, there has been increasing concern about China\u2019s assertiveness in Asia and greater threats against Taiwan.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
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          "format": "PDF",
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        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Weapons Systems",
          "name": "Weapons Systems"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Conventional weapons - China",
          "name": "Conventional weapons - China"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Economic Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}