Military experts have claimed that Western media is deliberately exaggerating the so-called China Threat and praising China's military in order to procure more funding for their countries' own militaries.

British media recently published a new report announcing that in the next four years, China will possess the world's largest navy, consisting of between 270 and 279 vessels. Before that, the International Maritime Security Center announced its belief that in 2020, the Chinese navy will claim between 265 and 273 vessels, while the U.S. guessed the number to be closer to 260.

However, a U.S. report stated that, although China's navy will be the largest in terms of number of vessels, it will still lag behind the U.S. navy's operational capability. It is also estimated that by that time China owns two aircraft carriers, six or seven nuclear-powered attack submarines, five to seven nuclear-powered strategic submarines and 18 to 20 destroyers and cruisers equipped with Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.

Yin Zhuo, a military expert said that the number of vessels in a country's navy does not determine its operational capability; average tonnage of vessels is also a major concern. For the U.S., this figure is around 7,000 to 8,000 tons, which means the vessles are mostly large warship with high ocean-going operational capability. The U.S. meanwhile exaggerates China's speed of development in order to get still more funds for its military, Yin told the CCTV in an interview.

Cao Weidong, another military expert, expressed his belief that the most serious security threat China currently faces comes mainly from the sea. There are a number of sovereignty disputes regarding islands, and some countries have frequently conducted close-in reconnaissance in China's airspace near China's coast. For this reason, China needs a number of vessels for the purposes of security and defense.