China puts its third aircraft carrier into service - equipped with the latest technology
Created: 06/17/2022Updated: 06/17/2022 15:37
By: Christiane Kuehl
Launched at Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard: China's third aircraft carrier "Fujian" © Li Gang/Xinhua/Imago
China's rearmament is progressing inexorably.
A major goal is a navy that can be deployed worldwide.
The country's third aircraft carrier was launched in Shanghai - equipped with the latest technology.
Shanghai/Munich – The upgrade of the Chinese Navy has reached another milestone.
The country's third aircraft carrier was launched at Shanghai's state-owned Jiangnan Shipyard on Friday.
The ship named "Fujian" is China's first carrier equipped with the latest military technology.
In contrast to the previous two ships, the "Fujian" no longer has an old-fashioned launch pad, for example - but electromagnetic catapults to launch the aircraft from a completely flat deck.
The US Navy also uses this system in their Gerald R. Ford class carriers.
Otherwise, only France has this technology.
China commissioned its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, in 2012.
This is a converted Soviet-built ship that China bought from Ukraine in a semi-finished state after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
At that time, the buyers claimed that a floating casino should be built on the ship.
Instead, it ended up being an aircraft carrier complete with weapons and planes.
The "Liaoning" then served as a model for the first self-built carrier, the "Shandong".
This was launched in 2019 and has already undertaken the first longer sea voyages.
All three aircraft carriers are named after Chinese coastal provinces.
With a displacement of 80,000 tons, the “Fujian” is significantly larger and also longer than the two older aircraft carriers.
China's Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai: Production at full speed
The Jiangnan shipyard, where the "Fujian" was built, was relocated from downtown Shanghai to a river island in the Yangtze estuary in 2009.
Since then, it has been producing destroyers, icebreakers, amphibious landing vehicles - and now an aircraft carrier - at full speed.
For a long time, China tried to keep the project secret, but Fujian had been visible on satellite images for some time.
About a year ago, the deck was already half-finished, as the Center for International and Strategic Studies in Washington analyzed at the time using such recordings.
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The launch of the “Fujian” had previously been postponed twice due to the corona lockdown in Shanghai.
In the near future, the carrier will undergo mooring and sea trials to comprehensively test its overall capability and specific equipment, the Navy said.
China's Navy: Big Plans
China already has the largest navy in the world by number of warships - but most of the fleet is made up of smaller classes of ships.
The aircraft carriers are part of China's efforts to build a fleet capable of operating in international waters.
Beijing plans to have at least six aircraft carrier groups by 2035, several of which will be nuclear-powered.
This would allow the carriers to carry more fuel for the planes.
China is also increasingly looking for naval bases overseas.
To date, China has only operated one military base abroad, in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa.
In the Indo-Pacific and beyond, these activities and the Chinese naval build-up are viewed with concern by local residents, the US and its allies.
According to a report by the British magazine The
Economist
, military experts expect the establishment of up to ten carrier groups.
China would thus almost catch up with the USA, which currently operates eleven sponsoring associations.
However, building functioning aircraft carrier formations is complicated, requires a lot of training and costs a lot of time and money.
It is unlikely that China will directly confront the United States with its aircraft carriers.
Rather, experts expect that Beijing could use the carriers to intimidate weaker opponents.
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The People's Republic is at odds with its neighbors over islands and reefs in the South China Sea, where it claims large sea areas with significant fishing grounds, raw material deposits and shipping lanes.
China has already established several military bases on disputed reefs.
There have been several incidents involving Chinese and US naval vessels in the region in recent years.
In April, a security deal between China and the Solomon Islands caused an uproar: Australia, the US and others feared China might want to set up a naval base in the Pacific Islands.
China's navy is said to have secured a base in Cambodia.
China denied the reports.
This should not have allayed the concerns of the USA about growing competition in the Far East.
(ck/dpa)
