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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| Documents Confirm China's Aircraft Carrier Plans | |
| 2010-12-17 | |
| China is planning to build an aircraft carrier according to documents seen by the Asahi Shimbun. The Japanese daily on Thursday quoted the Institute for Ocean Development Strategy, a think tank under China's State Oceanic Administration, as saying in a recent report that Beijing "conceived the idea and worked out a plan in 2009 to build an aircraft carrier." This shows that China "is determined to become a maritime power," the report said. "The task is essential in achieving the great revival of the Chinese nation." The plan has been an open secret, but there has been no official confirmation so far. Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in March last year said China is the only one among the world's big powers that does not have an aircraft carrier, adding this state of affairs "cannot continue forever." China is believed to be building two 50,000-60,000-ton aircraft carriers at Changxingdao Shipyard, the world's biggest, in Shanghai and is expected to launch one in 2014. It is also reportedly working on remodeling the 58,500-ton Varyag, an aircraft carrier the former Soviet Union had stopped building, at Dalian Port to launch it in 2012. The country is expected to get a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier by 2020.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 The Chinese will do a good job. And they will learn. Humble beginnings. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-12-17 22:57 |
| #6 Yet China's best allies are a Congress that has repeatedly shown the one place they know how to seriously cut government is in Defense. Carrier task forces are truly expensive. They'll take the USN down to size faster than Beijing. |
| Posted by: P2kontheroad 2010-12-17 22:49 |
| #5 Also, a US carrier almost never travels alone, especially in a hostile environment. It takes years of experience to work out all the coordination, tactics, command and control, and on and on. The US has it - and has had it for 70+ years. It will take China decades to develop all that. If they ever get a chance. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2010-12-17 22:02 |
| #4 There has not been a carrier battle since WWII, and the US Navy won those. The only navy that has around the clock experience running carriers in all weather and sea conditions for 70+ years is the US Navy. The second largest carrier fleet in the world is property of the US Marine Corps. None of this bodes well for the Chinese experiment - especially since they will only have 1 carrier for many years. Ask the French how well that works out. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2010-12-17 21:21 |
| #3 Why would China need a carrier? They have historically had no interests in power projection. (1) Pride, the reason a lot of undeveloped nations do unexplainable things (2) Need to defend sea lanes if the US pulls back or confront the US at sea and decided a big target was the best way to do so (3) Keep builders working or hide graft. I suspect a combo of one and three. |
| Posted by: Rjschwarz 2010-12-17 14:22 |
| #2 If it's not built in Newport News, it aint shit. |
| Posted by: Alistaire Thitch9108 2010-12-17 13:29 |
| #1 "Target" painted big across the flight deck, and they know it. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-12-17 11:57 |