Wallace's essay is a broader policy-based complement to the narrow explanatory essay on the ship itself Dr. Alessio Patalano produced for The Asahi Shimbun (Link) -- an earlier draft of which he published on SSJ-Forum and I excerpted here.
Reading the two essays will sharply reduce the wool content in between both ears as regards these big "escort" (the Japanese term) vessels. As to what ships the Izumo-class of vessels would be escorting...that is left up to the imagination.
In all fairness, I have take exception with one sentence in Mr. Wallace's essay:
No self-respecting bureaucratic organisation would invest in a $1.2 billion piece of hardware specifically for the purpose of launching jump jets that may not materialise for many years, if at all.I believe that that seeming improbable is indeed a pivot point of this famous sketch examining the Royal Navy's acquisition of the Queen Elizabeth class of aircraft carriers.
Enjoy.
2 comments:
Very funny video, that was.
More pertain to this case is that Japan could potentially put F-18 on it, and well, F-18 is probably a match for the J-10, and maybe the J-20 as well, if it's ever going to be operational. Who knows.
Now more pertain to the case about China, most rational people will not see this "destroyer/carrier" ship as any threat, if AS/AD is China's de facto strategy. But Chinese TV is devoting much time discussing it. I would call that dramatization. It fills TV space. Without at least some of these war-mongering, first of all TV will be boring due to the very limited creativity you can produce under censor, second, people will use their time more wisely on sensitive political issues. Well, that's one reason for creating a mirage of a conflict at the country's border -- to waste susceptible people's time. And if one buys the premise that the Chinese people are largely xenophobic, there are lots of susceptible people out there.
Heh, very good and well played. I view this skit as a complement to my essay, not an exception ;-)
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