Chinese Military Replacing Old Weapons with New: Defence White Paper

The Chinese military is in the process of replacing older equipment commissioning new weapons such as  Type 15 tanks, Type 052D destroyers, J-20 fighters and DF-26 intermediate and long-range ballistic missiles, according to a white paper issued by defense ministry on Wednesday.

The white paper "China's National Defense in the New Era," released by the Information Office of the State Council, said China's armed forces are optimizing the overall composition of its weaponry and equipment, coordinating the efforts of all services and arms in this regard, promoting the balanced development of main battle equipment, information systems, and support equipment, with a view to comprehensively raise standardization, serial development and interoperability.

Older equipment is being phased out and a system is being created that is mainly comprised of new and high-tech weaponry and equipment. The weapons mentioned in the white paper are some of China's newest and are world-class, military observers said.

The weapons listed in the white paper are those that are combat ready. The Type 15 tank is a lightweight tank capable of operating in rough terrain such as high altitude plateaus and mountainous areas. The Type 052D guided missile destroyer is China’s latest battleship.

The J-20 is considered a rival to the US' F-22.The DF-26 missile has been dubbed the anti-ship ballistic missile, which can destroy moving mid-sized to large vessels including aircraft carriers.

The Chinese military has cut 300,000 personnel to keep the total active force at 2 million, the white paper said.