China plans second, larger aircraft carrier

CHINA: China is planning a second and larger aircraft carrier, a top naval officer said according to state media Wednesday, after its first carrier was commissioned last year as part of a military buildup. The confirmation of a second vessel comes amid escalating maritime territorial disputes between China and its neighbours, and the United States' increased focus on Asia which has riled China.

"China will have more than one aircraft carrier," Song Xue, deputy chief of staff of China's navy, said at a ceremony Tuesday to celebrate the 64th anniversary of the founding of China's navy, the Xinhua news agency reported. "We hope the next aircraft carrier can be bigger, because then it would be able to carry more aircraft and be more powerful," he told foreign military attaches in Beijing. China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, went into service in September in a symbolic milestone for the country's increasingly muscular military.

However, the vessel still requires a carrier group including destroyers, frigates and submarines while fighter jets need more training to be operational, Song said.

AFP