China’s third aircraft carrier entered service this week, state media reported yesterday, marking a key milestone in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) drive to modernize the military.
The Fujian joins China’s fleet as Beijing projects its maritime power against the US and others in the region, with flashpoints including territorial disputes in the South China Sea and persisting claims over Taiwan.
The latest aircraft carrier is equipped with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) — something that previously only the USS Gerald R. Ford possessed.
Photo: AFP / Chinese Ministry of National Defense
The advanced takeoff system allows the Chinese air force to deploy jets carrying larger payloads and more fuel.
Xinhua yesterday reported that Xi had “personally decided” that the Fujian would adopt EMALS.
Analysts say China lags behind the US, which has 11 aircraft carriers in service, in overall military prowess, but Beijing has directed billions of dollars into defense spending, a trend that has unnerved some governments in East Asia despite China insisting its aims are peaceful.
The navy in particular has seen a massive expansion as leaders seek to grow China’s reach in the Pacific and challenge a US-led alliance.
The new carrier’s official commissioning took place at a naval port in Hainan Province on Wednesday, Xinhua reported, describing the atmosphere as “grand and enthusiastic.”
“After the ceremony, Xi Jinping boarded the Fujian ... and learned about the development of the aircraft carrier system combat capabilities, and the construction and application of the electromagnetic catapult system,” it said.
Xi also went into the carrier’s control tower to learn about flight operations, Xinhua said, adding that he “solemnly signed the ship’s logbook.”
After conducting sea trials, the Fujian joins China’s other two aircraft carriers in active operation, the Liaoning and the Shandong.
The Soviet-built Liaoning is the oldest, commissioned in 2012, while the Shandong entered service in 2019.
China’s third carrier is “by many measures more capable than the Liaoning and the Shandong,” said Collin Koh (許瑞麟), an expert in regional naval affairs at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
“Overall, compared to the two preceding carriers which are ski-jump configured, the Fujian has greater combat persistence and striking power,” Koh said.
The Fujian had already been in the spotlight leading up to its formal commissioning.
Chinese defense officials in September said that the Fujian had sailed through the Taiwan Strait to carry out “scientific research trials and training missions” in the South China Sea.
The defense ministries in Taiwan and Japan at the time said that they had detected the Fujian’s movements, which brought it within approximately 200km of the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台).
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