Chinas 1st aircraft carrier heads for Western Pacific

[inanna]

Source: Associated Press

December 25 at 12:31 AM

BEIJING — China’s first aircraft carrier has set off for the Western Pacific for an open-sea training exercise, the Defense Ministry said.

State media said it is the first time that the Liaoning, which was commissioned by the Chinese navy in 2012, has headed to “distant sea waters.” The Western Pacific region stretches from China to New Zealand and encompasses countries in the Pacific, Oceania and parts of Asia.

The statement said a navy formation including the Liaoning set off Saturday for training “in distant sea waters,” without giving details, as part of an annual training plan

<snip>

China hasn’t described specifically how it intends to use the Liaoning, but it is seen as helping reinforce China’s increasingly assertive claims over almost all of the South China Sea, which is home to key shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of mineral resources.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinas-1st-aircraft-carrier-heads-for-western-pacific/2016/12/25/23ec5a82-ca60-11e6-acda-59924caa2450_story.html

[Auggie]

1. Meanwhile, the United States employs 19 ...

though "only" ten are considered to be true carriers.

True or not, I'm sure the other 9 are capable of inflicting horrific carnage.

http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/does-the-us-navy-have-10-or-19-aircraft-carriers/

[Bradical79]

2. I had no idea China lacked aircraft carriers -nt

[Brother Buzz]

3. China caught up with Russia

Russia has exactly one aircraft carrier.

Note: The Chinese bought their soviet aircraft carrier from cash strapped Ukraine as a stripped down ship:

Originally laid down as the Admiral Kuznetsov class multirole aircraft carrier Riga for the Soviet Navy, she was launched on December 4, 1988, and renamed Varyag in 1990.[5] The stripped hulk was purchased in 1998 by the People's Republic of China and towed to Dalian shipyard in northeast China. After being completely rebuilt and undergoing sea trials, the ship was commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as Liaoning with the class name Type 001 on September 25, 2012. In November 2016, the political commissar of the Liaoning, Senior Captain Li Dongyou, stated that the Liaoning was combat ready.

Varyag under tow in the Bosphorus through İstanbul