China is slowly but surely building up their military presence and power, starting sea trials of the country’s first aircraft carrier. This aircraft carrier had humble beginnings, coming in the form of a 60,000 ton warship which was purchased as an empty shell from the Ukraine in 1998, and it has taken over a decade to transform it into what it is today – a fully fledged aircraft carrier. This 990 feet carrier will definitely make China’s smaller neighbors more edgy than usual, and what with China’s first stealth aircraft and “carrier-killing” missiles, this deadly trio might just seriously jeopardize the US’ ability to protect Taiwan from an attack if that happens.
According to China, “Even if China developed an aircraft carrier with full combat capacity in the future, it will not pose any threat to other countries.” Western military sources think that China might just use this ship as a template for a quartet of Chinese-built carriers down the road.
Still known as Varyag (after the Varangian people, the Viking ancestors of the Rus), she might be re-christened as Shi Lang, who was a Qing Dynasty general who re-took the island of Taiwan.
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