By Wang Jun
QINGDAO, Feb. 15 (ChinaMil) -- According to the local media report, a warship of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy named after Lhasa, capital of Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region in southwest China, was recently unveiled in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province.
“A 10,000-tonne guided-missile destroyer of the PLA Navy has been named Lhasa” said the Civil Affairs Bureau of Lhasa in late 2018 in responding to a letter asking about the naming progress.
The letter said, “Regarding the naming of destroyers, presently Lhasa has lagged behind the other provincial capitals. As far as I know, warships Urumqi, Hohhot and Xining have been named and put into service... As a citizen of Lhasa, I hope that the civil affairs department can speed up the work of naming a destroyer with Lhasa, which will be of great importance to promoting Lhasa, a world-famous tourist destination. Therefore, submitting a naming application to the PLA Navy as soon as possible is a surefire way. Neither the citizens of Lhasa nor the Tibetans can afford to wait.”
The Civil Affairs Bureau of Lhasa published its reply to the letter on December 19, 2018 on the Municipal Government of Lhasa’s website under ‘The Mayor’s Mailbox’ column: “A 10,000-tonne Type 055 guided-missile destroyer has been named Lhasa after negotiation with the PLA Navy.”
The above-mentioned 10,000-tonne warship is PLA Navy’s new-generation destroyer, the Type 055 guided-missile destroyer. On June 28, 2017, the first of China’s Type 055 guided-missile destroyer held its launching ceremony at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai.
Equipped with new air defense, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, the home-built warship has made a series of breakthroughs in key technologies such as overall design, information integration and assembly construction for large-size warships. The warship is characterized by strong information perception, air defense and anti-missile as well as maritime strike capabilities. It serves as a landmark for the strategic transformation and development of the PLA Navy.
Apart from Shanghai Jiangnan Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. which is under China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) is also undertaking the construction of Type 055 guided-missile destroyers, two of which were launched simultaneously in July 2018.