China's first aircraft carrier docked at a port in Dalian, Liaoning Province. Photo: Xinhua
China announced it is refitting its first aircraft carrier in the official confirmation of what is viewed as a symbolic breakthrough for the country's naval force.
As the date of its first trial at sea is unknown, strategists said the operational significance and implications of China's first aircraft carrier will not be seen in the short term.
"China is using an old aircraft carrier platform for scientific research, experiment and training," Geng Yansheng, a Ministry of National Defense spokesman, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
China needs to acquire an aircraft carrier due to the country's long coastline and large area of territorial waters, he said, adding that the vessel will help to keep the peace.
The carrier has a displacement of nearly 60,000 metric tons, putting it in the same class as Russia's commissioned carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, according to Cao Weidong, a researcher with the People's Liberation Army Navy's Academic Research Institute.
Chen Bingde, the PLA's chief of the General Staff, revealed in an interview in June that a vessel was under construction.
His remarks came after speculation around the PLA's plan to pursue an aircraft carrier program, which intensified earlier this year.
The carrier is currently being worked on in the port of Dalian in northeastern Liaoning Province.
"The warship is still seaworthy, as it has been docked at sea for some time. The time for its first seagoing trial will depend on the refitting schedule," Geng said.
The Study Times reported that the first aircraft carrier, dubbed "Shi Lang," will debut at sea on August 1, the founding anniversary of the PLA.
Luo Yuan, a major general of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, told the Global Times that the vessel will announce China's membership to the world's aircraft carrier club.
"It fills an equipment gap in the cause of military modernization. The vessel will improve China's naval combat ability, including large-scale combat, in the future, which can serve our defensive strategy. It is therefore a breakthrough for the PLA," Luo said.
Luo said that until now, China was the only permanent member of the UN Security Council without a carrier.
Although the PLA will equip the vessel with modern technology, it will lag behind the advanced equipment found on US carriers, Luo conceded.
Gary Li, a marine analyst at Exclusive Analysis, a London-based risk consultancy, told the Global Times that he did not see this as a historic event, given that "the carrier is essentially recycled and not built from an indigenous design, although it has been upgraded to make it more useful in a modern environment."
"At present, the carrier will not represent a major increase in capabilities overall, as it is primarily a prestige symbol and for training. It does, however, represent China's wish to become a proper naval power with the ability to project its forces over long distances," Li explained.
David Finkelstein, director of China Studies at CNA, an independent research institute in the US, said that at an operational level, it will likely take some time before the PLA Navy becomes proficient in aircraft carrier operations.
"The essence of a carrier is an air wing that is highly proficient at distant strike operations against sea-based, land-based, and aerospace targets from a sea-based platform. All of this takes time. Which is not to say it will not happen for the PLA Navy, it will to some degree at some point," he told the Global Times.
China's moves toward deploying carriers raises the stakes for Washington, which has long been the pre-eminent naval power in the Asia-Pacific, and will unnerve China's neighbors, already upset over Beijing's more assertive posture in enforcing disputed territorial claims, the AP reported.
The ship's rusty hull has been repainted with the navy blue shade of the PLA.
Construction workers were busy with refitting on Wednesday on the carrier's deck, apparently outnumbering naval personnel, an indication that the vessel is not yet ready to have its first sea trial in a short period of time.
"If the vessel is set to launch its first trial soon, you'll see lots of naval officers and sailors on the deck. But in fact, you can't see that many right now," an insider who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Global Times on Wednesday.
The vessel is an empty aircraft carrier shell bought from Ukraine. Ukraine disarmed it and removed its engines before selling it to China.
The carrier's original builder, the former Soviet Union, failed to complete construction on the ship before it collapsed in 1991.
Currently, nine countries including the US, Britain, France, Russia, Brazil and India, have a total of 20 aircraft carriers in service, with the US operating 11 of these.
Sun Wei in London and Xinhua contributed to this story