Lars,

I would suggest, given the level of completion of the build of this ship, that the ship was not a response to the announcement of the “Trump class” which occurred a few months ago. This ship is well on its way to completion, obviously planned and budgeted years ago.

China is well on its way to building a Navy that will control the western Pacific, if not have global maritime dominance. This ship appears to be another cog in the wheel of a very aggressive maritime strategy to secure dominance of the world’s oceans.

Bill