China commissions aircraft carrier prior to party congress

Central News Agency

2012/09/25 20:08:21

Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) China has chosen to formally commission its first aircraft carrier into service in the runup to its National Day as well as the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, an expert said Tuesday.

Chong-Pin Lin, a former vice national defense minister, said China's National Day falls on Oct. 1, while the 18th party congress, which will herald the first leadership transition in a decade, is scheduled for later this year.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao need to turn in a credible performance report for their 10 years in office, and the aircraft carrier is one of them.

"The carrier does not have combat capability," Lin said, adding that China's decision to announce its entry into service "is a show of attitude."

He said the move is aimed at letting Japan know the Chinese military's strength, and that it can "overwhelm its rival with such strength."

He noted that China used to describe the carrier, called the Liaoning after China's northeastern province, as a vessel for scientific research, but this time, has clearly stated its use, which he said is "in strong contrast" to its previous descriptions.

"The aircraft carrier will raise the level of modernization of China's overall naval operational forces," China's Defense Ministry said on its website.

The Liaoning will help "effectively protect national sovereignty, security and development interests," it said.

The Liaoning is an old aircraft carrier that China bought from Ukraine in 1998.

Commenting on the significance of China's first aircraft carrier, Chinese scholar Li Daguang said it will turn China's navy into a strategic force, raise the country's world stature and show its unswerving determination to defend the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.

He said that strategic intimidation will be more significant than the vessel's real combat capability, especially in the sense of safeguarding national security and interests.

He said that China has displayed the carrier several times, which is aimed at showing the Japanese government squarely that Japan should retract its stance on the disputed island group or face dire consequences.

The Diaoyu Islands, called the Senkaku Islands in Japan, are currently administered by Japan but are also claimed by Taiwan and China.

Japan's recent move to nationalize the island chain by purchasing three of the islets from private ownership has triggered strong protests from Taiwan and China.

(By Tsai Su-jung and Lilian Wu)

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