China has worked tirelessly to modernize and expand its naval forces and aircraft carriers over the last decade.
For the first time, the People’s Republic of China deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups to the Western Pacific. According to images captured by the Japanese, People’s Liberation Army (PLAN) carrier CNS Shandong (17) and its accompanying warships sailed near Miyako Island. China’s CNS Liaoning and its strike group were simultaneously operating in the Philippine Sea. Since the waters south of Japan would serve as a vital battleground if a Chinese takeover of the sovereign territory of Taiwan were to transpire, the unprecedented presence of two PLAN carriers in the area is cause for concern. Beijing has worked tirelessly to modernize and expand its naval forces over the last decade. Although the People’s Republic of China certainly controls the largest navy across the globe, power projection out at sea is not its forte.
The Chinese navy posted images of its two carriers on X. Senior Captain Wang Xuemeng was quoted stating that the Shandong and the Liaoning and their respective strike groups had been “training in the waters of the western Pacific to test their capabilities in far-seas protection and joint operations.” The statement continued: “The routine training is organized in accordance with the annual plan, aiming at continuously enhancing the PLA Navy’s capabilities of fulfilling the missions. It is in compliance with relevant international laws and practices and is not directed against any specific country or target.”
China’s Carriers: Shandong and Liaoning
According to reports released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense, China’s Type 005 Zunyi destroyer, two Type 054A frigates, and a Type 905 replenishment oiler were dispatched along with Shandong. China’s Shandong aircraft carrier, built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry, was commissioned in late 2019 representing the second carrier introduced to the PLAN. The Liaoning Type 001 carrier was the first of its kind commissioned. Initially laid down as the USSR’s Kuznetsov-class carrier designated Varyag, the massive warship was eventually procured by Ukraine following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Prior to its delivery to the Chinese navy, the carrier underwent a large overhaul in order to be equipped with more advanced capabilities.
As detailed by Army Recognition, Liaoning is a Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) aircraft carrier. Unlike a CATOBAR-equipped warship, which uses a catapult, STOBAR carriers are shorter and use a ski jump to aid the take-off of fighter jets. Aircraft must feature a high thrust-to-weight ratio that can produce a lot of power to be able to take off on a runway as short as a carrier’s flight deck. In terms of size and specs, Liaoning measures roughly 1,000 feet in length with a beam length of just over 244 feet. With a displacement of 43,000 tons, the Chinese carrier is certainly large. Comparably, however, the US Navy’s newest Gerald R. Ford-class warships displace roughly 100,000 tons.
While the US Navy surpasses the Chinese in terms of quantity and quality of aircraft carriers, the PRC’s continued prioritization of next-generation technologies indicates its ability to project power out at sea more dominantly may soon be in the realm of possibility.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
Image: Shutterstock.
