China’s second aircraft carrier entered service today, adding major firepower to the country’s military ambitions as it faces tensions with self-ruled Taiwan as well as the US and regional neighbours around the disputed South China Sea.
The 50,000-tonne warship, China’s first domestically built carrier, was commissioned by Chinese President Xi during a ceremony at a naval port in Sanya, southern China’s Hainan Province, state media said.
The commissioning of the ship, which has been named after the eastern coastal province of Shandong, puts China in a small club of nations with multiple aircraft carriers.
A screenshot of a news programme by China’s state broadcaster CCTV shows its second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, after it was commissioned to the People’s Liberation Army Navy
The vessel was commissioned to China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy in Sanya, southern Hainan Province, today by Chinese President Xi (seen in CCTV news) during a ceremony
China’s second aircraft carrier has entered service. The 50,000-tonne warship, China’s first domestically built carrier, is pictured at its launch ceremony at a shipyard in Dalian in 2017
Beijing’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, is a re-fitted Soviet-era Ukrainian ship and named after the province where it was revamped. It entered service in September, 2012.
The country is building a third aircraft carrier, which will be equipped with a flat-top flight deck and an electromagnetic aircraft launch system, according to previous reports.
The new aircraft carrier was delivered to the People’s Liberation Army Navy in Hainan, China’s southernmost province, and placed in active service on Tuesday, reported Xinhua News Agency.
State broadcaster CCTV shows President Xi boarding the vessel to be saluted by its captain, Lai Yijun, before inspecting the naval troops stationed on the ship.
President Xi also went into one warplane being parked on the carrier.
Hainan province is in the South China Sea east of Vietnam, which has competing claims in the waterway along with China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei.
In November China confirmed that the ship had sailed through the Taiwan Strait for ‘routine’ training and tests, drawing the ire of Taipei.
It is believed that the ship will be based in a newly complete aircraft carrier base in Sanya.
The facility has been described as ‘a large military base built by the Chinese navy’ and can hold ‘various large vessels’.
The new warship (pictured after a sea trial in 2018) has been named The Shandong because the eastern province of the same name has the country’s first aircraft carrier base
Commenting on the construction of the base, Geng Yansheng, the country’s then spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, previous said that it was ‘very necessary and normal’ for the Chinese troops to ‘maintain and revamp’ its facilities.
China, which sees democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, has stepped up military drills around the island since Beijing-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen, who is seeking re-election, came to power in 2016.
The new warship has been named The Shandong because the province has the country’s first aircraft carrier base, military analyst Lijie told state-run newspaper Global Times.
It is based on the Soviet Kuznetsov class design and was launched at a shipyard in the northern port city of Dalian on April 27, 2017.
It can hold 24 Shenyang J-15 fighter jets and 12 helicopters, and has conducted nine sea trials.
Xinhua reported last November that Beijing had started building its third aircraft carrier and it could be launched in 2021.
Analysts have suggested that the vessel is being built at a shipyard in Shanghai.