Chinese see aircraft carrier as sign of growing might

By Andreas Landwehr Jul 29, 2011, 10:59 GMT

Beijing - Following years of speculation about the direction of China's naval defence strategy, the burgeoning superpower has for the first time officially confirmed that it is in the process of rebuilding an imported aircraft carrier.

China's Defence Ministry said the vessel - which is based on the empty hull of a carrier called the Varyag bought from Ukraine - will be used for the purpose of 'technical research, experiments and training.'

Unconfirmed but widely circulated reports state that two more medium-sized and conventionally powered aircraft carriers are currently under construction in the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai.

The authorities have denied the reports of the Chinese-made carriers, but have defended the country's right in principle to operate such vessels.

'China is the only one of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council not to have an aircraft carrier,' Xu Guangyu, retired general and senior researcher at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the German Press Agency dpa in an interview.

'For a country, it is a symbol of ability and power. For the army, it has deterrence. For China, it is a kind of defensive deterrence,' Xu said.

In Asia, India and Thailand also have one aircraft carrier each.

The developments come at a time when China's military investment is rocketing, amid increasing regional tensions, in particular over resource-rich territories in the South China Sea.

Many of the countries with competing claims to China's are allies of the United States, and Beijing is keen to develop a counterbalance to any possible US intervention in any conflicts in the region, notably with Taiwan.

Tensions with the Philippines over the Spratly Islands have also risen recently, with Manila appealing for US military hardware to help it defend what it sees as its territory.

Repeated Chinese assurances that the intentions for the aircraft carrier are only peaceful, and that it has no hegemonic ambitions in the region, have failed to allay concerns among its neighbours.

The Chinese military has stated that the timing of the announcement has 'nothing to do' with the increased tensions in the South China Sea, but Xu sees a link to China's claims to the region.

'The enhancing of our naval force will definitely increase the protection to all our islands along the sea, including Taiwan,' Xu said.

'It will only be used defensively and only when our sovereignty is infringed. We can only persuade our surrounding neighbours through our actions. For most issues, a peaceful solution will have priority. Military solutions are the absolute last resort,' he said.

The growing international presence of China's navy also has positive manifestations, said Chen Zhou, one of the authors of China's white paper on national defence.

The navy is already involved in the fight against pirates around the Horn of Africa, said Chen Zhou, adding that he believes the country will play an ever-increasing role on the global military stage.

'At a time when China is being called upon to live up to its international responsibilities, the advances in the development of an aircraft carrier show China's global support for the security of the seas and world peace,' he said.

A Chinese company purchased the empty hull of the Varyag in 1998. The vessel is currently docked in the north-eastern port of Dalian, where it has been undergoing refurbishment, ostensibly for training purposes only at this stage.

It is due to start sea trials later this summer, after time it will probably be used mainly to train pilots, who must learn to take off from and land on the carrier while it is moving.

The training programme could be an indication that construction on the other carriers has reached a decisive phase, although experts have warned that the deployment of an aircraft carrier is a complicated and expensive military operation.

Carriers need to be escorted by other warships for protection, as they are large, slow and easy targets.

The Varyag will be renamed Shilang before its launch, after a 17th-century admiral who retook the island of Taiwan for the Ming dynasty.