Almost two decades after buying the hull from Ukraine in 1998, China has finally declared its sole aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, ready for combat.

China's aircraft carrier, as well as the rest of its rapidly modernizing navy, puts Beijing in an elite club with the greatest naval powers in the world. The development has raised eyebrows in the Pacific and globally, as China ignores international law, builds and militarizes artificial islands in the South China Sea, and threatens and bullies its neighbors.

In the slides below, see how China's Liaoning stacks up to other carriers worldwide: