By Star Chang, posted Aug 12, 2011 at 4:03 AM, 1,221 views,

China’s Aircraft Carrier Sets for First Sea Trial (video)

China’s first aircraft carrier set out on a low-profile sea trial, its first journey under the Chinese flag. The vessel was refitted from a former Soviet Navy aircraft carrier, departed from the port of Dalian, a major city and seaport in Liaoning province, Northeast China. While the ship was preparing to go for its first sea trail, swarms of spectators flew to the city of Dalian this week to get a view of the conventionally fueled ship. Global journalists also gathered nearby for interviews and shoot footage of China’s first aircraft carrier. China is the third asia country to own an aircraft carrier, followed with India and Thailand. The pick of a disarmed Russian vessel as China’s first aircraft carrier seems somewhat low-key, but the carrier’s sea trial signifies a new era for China’s navy …

The ship is an Admiral Kuznetsov Class aircraft carrier that is 304.5 meters long and 37 meters wide, with a displacement of 58,500 metric tons. Construction on the vessel was started by the Soviet Union and it was completed in 1992 except for its electronic components. After the Soviet Union broke up, Ukraine took over the ship. The vessel was bought by a Macao casino company in 1998. Since March 2002, it has quietly berthed in the port of Dalian and images of the ship were spread across the internet. The Chinese Defense Ministry responded slowly to speculation about China having an aircraft carrier. Later, they have confirmed China’s aircraft carrier program, while emphasizing the carrier was only intended for “scientific research, experiment and training“.

The carrier departed from the Dalian shipyard where workers have been refurbishing the ship. Dalian is some 80 nautical miles north of the sea battlefield where 117 years ago the first modern Chinese navy fleet was ferociously bombarded and later vanquished by the Japanese navy. Military sources said that the trial is in line with the carrier’s refitting schedule and will not take a long time, refitting work will continue after the vessel has returned to the port. Still, some neighboring countries have expressed concern over the ever-increasing strength of the Chinese armed forces. Japan’s most recent defense white paper noted the growing “assertiveness” of China’s military buildup. Japan currently has two 18,000-metric ton Hyuga-class helicopter carriers, although the warships are classified by Japan as “helicopter destroyers”.

China became the world’s No 1 shipbuilding country in terms of vessel’s tonnage in 2010, surpassing Japan and the Republic of Korea. But comparing with countries who had decades of experience of operating aircraft carriers, China is really a green hand. It usually takes at least ten years to build up a strike group centered on an aircraft carrier, which is just an initial step for shaping marine defense capacity. Even well before the unveiling of the first aircraft carrier, China did not hide its intention to improve its navy, which is still quite weak in defense capability. Althought it is very complicated to refit an aircraft carrier, it is a challenge to upgrade China’s industrial manufacturing ability. Anyway, we believed the carrier carries more symbolic significance for China than anything else.

Source: Xinhuanet (Link1) (Link2)