Why is China building so many ships like frigates then? Shouldn’t China shift the ship building to building masses on masses of Jets and anything anti-aircraft/air superiority? The US and their allies still have more planes than China does and the B-21 seems especially scary.
Since
@Nevermore and
@lcloo have already explained above, I'll just add a bit more.
#1 - Warships are fundamental towards establishing continuous presence and effective control of the regions of seas and oceans where they are located and sailing at. How else are you going to conduct those without warships? Submarines, warplanes and missiles certainly aren't the correct answers.
#2 - Warships can sail anywhere around the world which aren't territorial waters of other countries, meaning that they can be deployed anywhere and are free of the limitations imposed on shore-based aircrafts, especially when considering how China doesn't have any airbases outside of her borders.
#3 - Last-but-not-least - There is one type of warship which is called aircraft carriers. They are essentially mobile airfields on the sea, and they serve to extend the reach of airpower outwards from home shores by enabling warplanes to be based and operate from them for conducting various types of missions. And by-nature, aircraft carriers themselves are vulnerable. Without other types of warships (namely frigates and destroyers), what else is going to escort and protect the carriers?
Plus with developments in anti ship missiles like LRASMs isn’t that making ships even less relevant?
In the military domain, things don't get succeeded/replaced because they can be countered/overwhelmed. Things get succeeded/replaced because something much better has the ability to completely take over the roles and responsibilities.
Also, LRASM isn't a
wunderwaffe. Sure, they are potent AShMs - But China certainly isn't sitting on her buttcheeks either. Otherwise, what are all those networked and integrated ship-based SAMs and CIWS, fighter-based AAMs, aerial-based and ship-based radars and sensors deployed by the PLA for?
