China’s 1st carrier begins sea trial

BEIJING—In a move viewed by the Philippines as part of a “military buildup,” China’s first aircraft carrier swept through fog-shrouded waters on Wednesday to open sea trials.

The move stoked concerns about Beijing’s growing military strength and increasingly assertive claims over disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

The mission by the refurbished former Soviet carrier marks a first step in readying the craft for full deployment. China says the ship is intended for research and training, pointing to longer-term plans to build up to three additional clones of the carrier in China’s own shipyards.

While Chinese carriers could challenge US naval supremacy in Asia, China still has far to go in bringing such systems into play, experts said. The United States operates 11 aircraft carrier battle groups and its carriers are far bigger and more advanced.

The voyage of the 300-meter-long carrier began a day after President Aquino met in Manila with a Chinese delegation led by visiting Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, who handed the Philippine leader a personal message from Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda declined comment on the naval test runs except to say that the aircraft carrier was “part of (China’s) military buildup.’’

Lacierda declined to reveal what Mr. Aquino and the Chinese delegation talked about, saying the latter had asked the talks be kept confidential.

“Personally, I think it (the meeting) was something that we will be proud to share but since the Chinese requested us to keep it private, we acceded to their request,’’ Lacierda said.

He said the Chinese president’s message was “warm and cordial’’ and an “expression of friendship.’’

Habitual secrecy

Wednesday’s sea trials came in the wake of run-ins between China and neighbors the Philippines and Vietnam over ownership of potentially oil-rich isles in what Manila calls the West Philippine Sea. China refers to the body of water as the South China Sea.

Information about the voyage was tightly restricted in line with the Chinese military’s habitual secrecy, although the official Xinhua News Agency indicated the step had been planned for some time.

The aircraft carrier ploughed through fog and sounded its horn three times as it left the northern port of Dalian, Xinhua said.

“After returning from the sea trial, the aircraft carrier will continue refit and test work,” Xinhua said.

No threat

In an interview published this week, Chinese Navy Rear Adm. Yin Zhuo said China intended to build an air carrier group, but that task would be long and difficult.

“The aircraft carriers will form a very strong battle group,” Yin told the China Economic Weekly. “But the construction and functional demands of an aircraft carrier are extremely complex,” he said.

Beijing has repeatedly sought to alleviate fears over its pursuit of sophisticated weaponry, and Xinhua said the new carrier posed no threat to anyone.

“Building a strong Navy that is commensurate with China’s rising status is a necessary step and an inevitable choice for the country to safeguard its increasingly globalized national interests,” the news agency said.

“Even if China developed an aircraft carrier with full combat capacity in the future, it will not pose any threat to other countries.”

Bragging rights

China has spent the better part of a decade refurbishing the carrier, formerly known as the Varyag, after it was towed from Ukraine in 1998, minus its engines, weaponry, and navigation systems.

Beijing’s carrier program is seen as the natural outgrowth of the country’s burgeoning military expansion, fed by two decades of near-continuous, double-digit percentage increases in the defense budget.

China’s announced military spending rose to $91.5 billion last year, the second highest in the world after the United States.

While the development of carriers is driven largely by bragging rights and national prestige, China’s naval ambitions have been brought into focus with its claims to disputed territory.

Taiwan has responded to the growing Chinese threat by developing missiles capable of striking carriers at sea.

Ability to hit US bases

China defends its carrier program by saying it is the only permanent member of the UN Security Council that has not developed such platforms and that it has a huge coastline and vast maritime assets to defend.

As the world’s second largest economy, China says it lags behind smaller nations such as Thailand and Brazil, as well as regional rival India, which have purchased carriers from abroad.

Wednesday’s exercise was essentially a test of the ship’s propulsion system, with preparations to launch aircraft still a long way off, said Andrei Chang, editor of Kanwa Asian Defense magazine.

Positioning a carrier off its coast would boost the range of China’s naval aircraft, increasing their ability to hit US bases in Japan, South Korea, and possibly Guam.

Stealing technology

Beijing is believed to be developing a carrier version of the Russian Su-33, dubbed the J-15, a step that has angered defense officials in Moscow who accuse China or stealing their defense technology.

With Moscow’s defense industry declining in production and innovation, Chinese leaders have taken to marrying old Soviet platforms with cutting-edge Chinese technology.

In January, China revealed it was developing its first stealth fighter jet, and it is also working on an anti-ballistic missile capable of piercing the defenses of even the most sturdy US naval ships. Reports from AP, AFP, Reuters and Christine O. Avendaño