The country’s most modern aircraft carrier
China launches third aircraft carrier Fujian
China has commissioned a new aircraft carrier “Fujian”, the most modern in the country. The ship was launched in Shanghai on Friday as part of celebrations.
© Li Gang/Xinhua/AP/DPA
China has launched its third aircraft carrier in a ceremony. The “Fujian” is considered to be technically more advanced than previous ships. The great power from East Asia thus has the most aircraft carriers in the world after the USA.
China launched its third aircraft carrier Fujian at a Shanghai shipyard on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The ship is the first fully domestically designed and built aircraft carrier and represents a major military advance for China.
According to CCTV, the “Fujian” is the first ship of its kind with an aircraft catapult. The previous aircraft carriers “Liaoning” and “Shandong” therefore do not have such a launch system. It will be years before the “Fujian” is operational. The Ministry of Defense has not yet announced a date for the commissioning.
According to defense magazine Janes, the United States currently has by far the most aircraft carriers with 11 ships, followed by China and Great Britain with two ships each.
China: Aggressive stance on Taiwan fuels tensions with US
In particular, China’s increasingly aggressive attitude towards Taiwan had recently caused tensions with the USA to rise significantly. Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe recently said his country would fight “to the end against independence” for the island.
China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that should be reunited with the mainland – if necessary by military force. The US is pursuing a line of “strategic ambiguity” on this issue. In doing so, they assure Taiwan of support in developing its defense capabilities, but do not expressly promise to come to the island’s aid in the event of war.