China’s next aircraft carrier may be the first of several

FORUM Staff

For years, China has had one aircraft carrier — the Liaoning, a secondhand Soviet-era ship. China bought it from Ukraine in the late 1990s and gave it an extensive overhaul before commissioning the vessel in 2012.

For months, rumors had been swirling that China was building a second aircraft carrier. Now that China has officially confirmed it, analysts have been weighing in on the significance of the development. They view it as another example of China flexing its military muscles.

“China wants to develop an ocean-going ‘blue water’ navy capable of defending the world’s second-largest economy’s growing interests as it adopts a more assertive stance in territorial disputes with neighbors in the South China and East China seas,” Reuters reported.

The Associated Press also described the bigger picture: “China is also steadily adding cutting-edge frigates, destroyers and nuclear submarines to its fleet and by some estimates has been launching more vessels than any other nation. Its rapid naval modernization is seen as aimed at asserting its maritime claims and extending its power far from its shores.”

At the dawn of 2016, China confirmed that it is constructing a 50,000-ton aircraft carrier entirely with Chinese technology at its northern port city of Dalian, near North Korea.

According to widespread news reports, Chinese defense officials released the following information: The carrier will be conventionally, rather than nuclear, powered; it will have a ski-jump takeoff for planes instead of a catapult launching system similar to that of U.S. carriers; it will carry Shenyang J-15 fighter-bombers; and the ship’s launch date is undetermined.

Aircraft carriers have long been a symbol of military might, and China’s construction of a second carrier puts it in exclusive company. Due to the expense and expertise required to build a carrier, only about a dozen countries can field one. Furthermore, only a handful of nations have more than one carrier in their fleet.

There are signs that China intends to further expand its fleet of carriers. Capt. Zhang Junshe of the People’s Liberation Army Naval Military Studies Research Institute was quoted in the official People’s Liberation Army Daily newspaper as saying that China needs at least three carriers. “One can be on duty, one can train personnel, and the third can receive maintenance,” he told the newspaper.

In a 2015 report, the Pentagon said China could construct several carriers over the next 15 years, according to Reuters. Still, China has a long way to go before its carrier group could match that of geopolitical rivals such as the U.S. and Japan.

“The second carrier will be roughly the same size as the Liaoning, but only about half the size of the U.S. Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarriers, of which 10 are currently in operation,” The Associated Press reported. As for Japan, it has four smaller carriers, considered “helicopter carriers.”

Additionally, the BBC reported, “China does not yet have a fleet of aircraft or pilots ready for carrier operations. So the Liaoning is being used to test and train them, a task that experts say will probably take several years.”