(Ecns.cn)— China is currently reconstructing an obsolete aircraft carrier into a training and research vessel, the Ministry of National Defense said on Wednesday.
Asked whether the vessel will be launched in August, Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said the sea trial date has not yet been determined.
"The specific trial time depends on the progress of the whole project. We all know building a carrier is a complex project that takes a lot of time," he said.
“China is pursuing a defensive national defense policy in spite of the warship’s construction,” Geng added.
"The aircraft carrier will be solely used for training and research purposes," he stressed.
Regarding the crew, Geng said that the training and cultivation of carrier-borne aircraft pilots mainly rely on China's own efforts. He also refused to disclose the name of the captain.
"I think everyone will know who the captain of the aircraft carrier is when the appointment is made," he said.
The 67,500-ton Varyag is considerably smaller than the Japan-based US carrier George Washington, which has a displacement of more than 100,000 tons. But when it goes into service, it will make China one of four countries besides the US, France, and Russia to have an operational carrier with a displacement of 50,000 tons or more.
Speculation over what is going to be stationed on it has become rampant in recent times. According to online leaks, the vehicles it carries may include the J-15 fighter, the JT-9 naval trainer, and the Z-8 helicopter.
Symbol of power
The People's Libertaion Army (PLA) has been discreet of its aircraft carrier plan for a long time. This has caused speculation and discussion in the media, both domestic and foreign, and internet forums, in which military enthusiasts have been exchanging their views on the use of one or more such warships.
However, the speculation regarding whether or not China is actually doing it has come to an end, as a top military official publicly confirmed earlier this month for the first time that China is building an aircraft carrier.
"I have nothing more to say about Chinese aircraft carriers, since prominent media outlets have already reported on them so much," said Chen Bingde, chief of the PLA General Staff, on July 11. "Our American friends all know that China bought an old aircraft carrier, the Varyag. It's very valuable for us to use for research."
"China is a big country and we have quite a large number of ships, but they are only small ships," Chen says. "This is not commensurate with the status of a country like China."
Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was on a visit to China during Chen's revelation, said that "great symbolism" is associated with China's first aircraft carrier.
China is the last permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to get an aircraft carrier. Before acquiring Varyag, the country had bought three decommissioned aircraft carriers for the purpose of studying them. Two of them, the former Russian carriers Minsk and Kiev, have been turned into theme parks.
An aircraft carrier symbolizes the ambition to move far beyond your own shores. It is a tool for power projection; China's navy may still be considered weak compared with that of the US, but this makes it official that the two countries will be rivals, says the Japan-based The Diplomat.
Despite the comparisons made by media reports, experts said the initial trial of the vessel will not have great impact on Sino-US relations.
“As the second-largest economy, China is expected to build one or two aircraft carriers to protect its own rights and the US will not be surprised by the news,” Jin Canrong, deputy dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, told a CNS reporter on Wednesday.
“China's first aircraft carrier has become a symbol to Western media of the rising Chinese military power, but it takes at least five years after the initial sea trial for an aircraft carrier to be effective in battles,” Jin added.
