China: New Aircraft Carriers Well Under Construction

December 31, 2015 | 15:18 GMT

China's Ministry of Defense confirmed the country is building a second indigenous aircraft carrier, Reuters reported Dec. 31. The announcement seems somewhat belated considering that China's program to develop its ocean-going navy — and aircraft carriers in particular — has been an open secret for years. China's one existing carrier, the Liaoning, was purchased as a stripped hulk from Ukraine in 1998 and rebuilt. People's Liberation Army Chief of the General Staff Chen Bingde said in 2011 that construction on at least one new carrier was underway. Leaked reports and satellite imagery this year revealed the progress of construction on a new carrier in China's northeastern Dalian shipyards, Liaoning province. In September, Taiwan's Defense Ministry stated that Beijing was constructing two aircraft carriers at least equal in size to its one existing capital ship. Beijing has been overt in its aspirations to rapidly improve its Navy to bolster its regional influence and will need three or four new carriers to fulfill its expectations.