china's first aircraft carrier will be commissioned by the end of the year and is very likely to be named after one of China's provinces, a military expert said yesterday.
All the necessary facilities have been
installed on the carrier through the nine sea trials since last August,
Li Jie, a researcher of the China Navy Military Academy, said in an
interview carried on the People's Daily website.
China has three major naval forces - the
East China Sea, North China Sea and South China Sea fleets. Many
speculated the aircraft carrier will join the South China Sea fleet to
stabilize the situation in tension there, but Li said the vessel could
be commissioned in different fleets.
However, the aircraft carrier will be mainly used for training and experiments, he said.
The carrier completed its ninth sea
trial last month, the longest yet, and returned to the Port of Dalian in
northeastern Liaoning Province.
The sea trials have been running
smoothly so far and attained anticipated objectives, Lin Bai, a colonel
of the General Armament Department of the Chinese People's Liberation
Army, has said.
Previously, some observers speculated
that the aircraft carrier might be named after Mao Zedong, founder of
the New China, or the capital Beijing, but Li said that was unlikely.
He also said China would have more than three aircraft carriers in the future.
Asian Defence News
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