BEIJING has come a long way since it first landed a jet fighter aboard what was originally HMAS Melbourne in 1987.
The
former Australian aircraft carrier had been sold for scrap. But it
proved a source of valuable technical intelligence for an ambitious
Chinese military.
China surprised the world again with the unveiling of its first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, in 2012.
It had been bought from Ukraine in 1998.
It was supposed to have been turned into a casino.
Instead, it emerged as a fully armed and operational warship.
The
People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been experimenting with it
ever since, developing a feel for the strengths and weaknesses of
carrier warfare.
Meanwhile, it’s been busy building another.
Today, tugboats have been seen moving the ship from its wharf in preparation for its first independently powered foray at sea.
This ship, so far known only as Type 001A (CV-17), is a
reverse-engineered and somewhat modified version of the Soviet-built
Liaoning.
Its hull was launched at the Dalian Shipyard in April
last year. It’s since been undergoing fit-out. It has also been subject
to a series of harbourside tests and trials.
The ship is believed
to be headed towards a designated testing zone in the Bohai Sea, which
has been declared a ‘no go zone’ until April 28.
“The first sea
trials of China’s second aircraft carrier, built at the Dalian shipyard,
are likely to take place in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea to test its
power and design,” Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator,
told the
state-operated Global Times
It’s an event that has military analysts in Japan, all of South East
Asia, India, the United States — and Australia — sitting up and taking
notice.
It means China now has two armed and operational aircraft
carriers capable of projecting firepower far beyond its borders. It’s an
event that further changes the balance of power in its favour.
Meanwhile, Beijing’s building two more.
Work
on aircraft carrier Type 002 resumed in May last year. It’s also
believed first metal was cut for the construction of Type 003 in
December.
http://www.news.com.au/military/heres-what-we-know-about-chinas-newest-aircraft-carriers/news-story/