By CGTN's Ding Dai
China's first homemade aircraft carrier is near completion.
Known as Type 001A, it is the country's second carrier, broadly similar to the first one, the Liaoning, and retains the ski jump for launching aircraft, but contains a revised flight deck arrangement among other differences.
Military experts say the new naval vessel will be China's first combat-ready carrier, and is likely to be based somewhere near the South China Sea to handle “complicated situations” with the United States. The Liaoning, will likely remain a training ship for future carrier crews.
Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning trains In Western Pacific. /CFP Photo
Meanwhile, the second domestically built aircraft carrier — the Type 002 — is under construction and is expected to be launched in about five years. It would be equipped with at least three conventional steam launch catapults, a breakthrough compared with Type 001A.
According to military experts, China plans to produce two Type 002 vessels, each with a displacement of 85,000 tonnes -- that would make them the biggest Chinese carriers.
Chinese Aircraft Carrier Liaoning/CFP Photo
However, it will still take a few years for the newest carrier to enter full service after its launch.
Only a few countries are keeping aircraft carriers in service.
The US has the most and all the others -- Russia, China, the UK, France, Italy, India and Thailand -- have only one in service.
Aircraft carriers in the world. /CGTN Photo
Senior Captain Zhang Junshe, Vice President of the China Naval Research Institute, told CGTN that it is natural and normal for China to acquire aircraft carriers.
“We have large areas of territorial waters. We have waters of three million square kilometers under Chinese jurisdiction and a coastline of 180,000 kilometers. So I think at least three carriers would be enough for China,” he said.
“According to the military technology, we know that one will be on duty, one in training period and the third on maintenance.”
Victoria Panova, a professor from the School of Regional and International Affairs of the Far Eastern Federal University in Moscow, agreed with Senior Captain Zhang, saying that it is normal for China to reposition itself in the Asia-Pacific region and to have more aircraft carriers.
“It doesn’t mean any threat. It might mean challenge for the US dominance because they have been the sole power and have almost absolute control over the world ocean,” she noted.
In an interview with Tian Wei, host of World Insight on CGTN, Zhang Junshe says it is normal for China to acquire more than one aircraft carrier.
When asked if China’s new aircraft carriers could lead to military competition in the region, Panova said that it is necessary for China to have enough capability so that some challengers did not feel they could attack or dictate the region, which would cause conflicts more easily.
Ye Helin and Victoria Panova share their thoughts on China's need for aircraft carriers during World Insight with Tian Wei.
Ye Hailin, Director of the Center for South Asia Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that there will not be any competition between the US and China, because China definitely has no ambition in building a big navy as the US does to compete for global maritime supremacy.
“But if the US wants to deny China’s naval presence in its territorial waters, that will be another issue. It will be more stable with a stronger Chinese navy in the region rather than the US as the sole presence in the area.”
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