China testing new aircraft carrier killer-missile

BEIJING (PTI): China's ambitious new long range ballistic missile with a range of 2,700 km dubbed as carrier-killer is undergoing tests, a top military official has said.

Chen Bingde, chief of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Staff acknowledged that China is developing Dongfeng-21D with an ability to strike moving targets - including aircraft carriers - at sea.

China building aircraft carrier: PLA Chief

BEIJING (BNS): China has, for the first time, officially confirmed reports that it is building an aircraft carrier it acquired from Ukraine in 1998.

“I have nothing more to say about Chinese aircraft carriers, since prominent media outlets have already reported on them so much,” Chen Bingde, chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Staff, said Monday.

“Our American friends all know that China bought an old aircraft carrier, the Varyag, from Ukraine. It’s very valuable for us to research these things this way,” the top military official was quoted as saying by the China Daily newspaper.

First China aircraft carrier sea trial next week

China's first aircraft carrier, Varyag -- a remodeled Soviet-era vessel -- will go on sea trials next week, a report said Tuesday, amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

China's top military official reportedly confirmed earlier this month that Beijing is building a huge aircraft carrier, the first acknowledgement of the ship's existence from China's secretive defence program.

The Hong Kong Commercial Daily, which broke the story of the vessel's confirmation, quoted unnamed military sources saying the carrier will go on sea trials on July 1 but will not be officially launched until October 2012.

The sources said the test has been expedited in view of rising tensions in the South China Sea -- home to two potentially oil-rich archipelagos, the Paracels and Spratlys -- in recent weeks.

China’s Aircraft Carrier: Some Observations from India

If international relations are driven by perceptions of relative strengths and weaknesses, then power projection matters the most. Power, as understood in modern statecraft, is contingent on a country’s willingness to project its capacity if not its intent. China’s initial testing of its stealth aircraft J20 in January 2011 and the recent showcasing of its aircraft carrier – formerly the Varyag and now Shi Lang – signify its growing military capability.

In late 2008, Chinese officials had stated that aircraft carriers reflected a nation's comprehensive power. Thus, China’s intentions in developing this vital strategic asset are amply clear. For some time now, China has been working towards developing a blue water navy with the strategic vision of  "safeguarding territory, development of national economy and overseas interests.” Recent developments testify to the fact that China sees the need to project and protect its interest beyond its coastal Exclusive Economic Zone. The first aircraft carrier will be a treated as a learning curve; China will induct indigenous carriers into the PLA navy (PLAN) between 2015 and 2020.The first part of this commentary focuses on the present status of China’s first carrier and the phases of carrier introduction into the PLA navy. The second part identifies the drivers behind the PLAN's carrier programme and the influence that a carrier force can provide in various maritime areas.

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