It is not every day that Xi Jinping is shown a mirror in terms of its military facade. However, 2020 has been the year which has flipped everything on its face, after getting a handful from Indians in the Himalayas, now Putin has shown China its place in the Air warfare during a joint military drill in the Pacific. During a joint patrol between China and Russia, analysts have underlined shortcomings of Chinese bombers that ascertain the fact that one can only go so far with reverse engineering.
2020 has been the year of unbecoming for the Chinese, and even after all the pomp and show of military prowess, Putin has shown that these claims by Xi Jinping and CCP are bloated beyond belief. China and Russia undertook a joint patrol over the western Pacific earlier this week as part of an annual show of military cooperation, and as reported by SCMP, the Chinese side was faced by the obviousness of limits of Chinese capabilities.
The joint patrol saw the participation of four Chinese H-6Ks and two Russian Tu-95s, the exercise which was meant to be a cooperation of equals in the eyes of CCP, turned out to be total domination of the two Russian bombers in front of the Chinese H-6Ks. The Russian bombers showed the limitations of their Chinese counterparts regarding their range and payload which can have far-ranging implications for the Chinese. Putin has shown Xi Jinping his place in their bilateral relations and may have mildly suggested that China should not punch above its weight and know its position in the pecking order.
It is not just this, earlier too, China has been busy in making floating balloons and selling them to the world as lethal weapons. China’s new aircraft carrier, Shandong, underwent only nine sea trials for 18 months, whereas its predecessor the Soviet-build Liaoning, underwent 10 sea trials in 13 months before it was commissioned. “(It is) still too early to estimate when the Shandong will be combat-ready,” said Beijing-based military expert Zhou Chenming.
Read more: The case of Shandong: China cannot make one aircraft carrier right
The Chinese air force has 160 to 180 H-6 bombers, which are the most advanced bombers that China has. They have a range of 6,000km (3,728 miles) and a wing loading of 160kg (353lbs) per square metre. Among all the H-6 bomber variants, only the H-6N variant is capable of being refuelled in the air, which is a really big strategic weakness and shows the engineering flaws that Beijing still needs to overcome. On the other hand, the Russian Tu-95 is a strategic bomber and missile platform with a range of whooping 15,000 km and a wing loading of 606kg per square metre.
The very basic mathematical calculations can ascertain the extent of limit the Chinese have in their military platforms and the fact that Vladimir Putin showed the difference right in the face of China means a lot. Russia will not be looked down by the very country that is what it is militarily because of Moscow’s scientific and military support and this military drill has shown who is the real boss when it comes to everything Military.
