“Its symbolic significance outweighs its practical significance,” said Ni Lexiong, an expert on Chinese maritime policy at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. “We’re already a maritime power, and so we need an appropriate force, whether that’s aircraft carriers or battleships, just like the United States or the British Empire did,” he added in a telephone interview.
The carrier left its shipyard in Dalian Port located in northeast Liaoning Province for its first sea trial. Beijing officials described the maiden voyage as a tentative trial run for the unfinished vessel. Military sources also added that “the first sea trial was in line with the schedule of the carrier refitting project and would not take a long time,”. According to reports, the carrier, measured at around 300 meters, or 984 feet, passed through dense fog and sounded its horn at least three times as it left the dock in Dalian Port.
According to other officials, this would be the first of many carriers that would form a formidable fleet. The battle group of aircraft carriers would be very strong, but it would also be long a d difficult to build such a formidable fleet. For China to have an effective fleet, they would have to build at least three aircraft carriers. According to one admiral, the demands of building such a fleet are very complex and extremely demanding. One challenge would be to train a crew for the carrier and also pilots for the aircrafts on the carrier.
It was only last month when China announced its plans of refitting an old and unfinished Soviet vessel that they had purchased from the Ukraine government. The aircraft carriers are just one part of China’s naval modernization project. China’s defense budget has increased to over 70 percent in the past five years. Country’s naval defense is also planning to build several vessels including submarines, surface ships and anti-ship ballistic missiles as part of its naval modernization drive.
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