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| Chinese Liaoning aircraft in the South China Sea |
What do we know about the Liaoning aircraft carrier?
Liaoning aircraft carrier is the first aircraft carrier that was inducted into the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s Surface Force branch, the branch of “PLAN” that deals with the surface warfare. This aircraft carrier was first launched by the Soviet Navy in the late 1980’s under the name of “Riga” and was later renamed as “Varyag” in 1990. With the dissolution of Soviet Union, further construction and development work on the ship was halted for the purpose of selling it. In 1998 China bought this aircraft carrier and rebuilt it to be re-launched as a training ship in 2012. In 2016, Chinese Navy officials announced that the aircraft carrier was now ready for any sort of combat scenario.
Purpose of an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier serves as a mobile sea air base with full operational capabilities that an armed force can expect from a local air base. It is generally employed by the bigger navies with the purpose to project their power globally without depending on their air bases back home. Though it is quite expensive to build but is of enormous importance when it comes to naval warfare.
Countries having aircraft carriers
The total number of active aircraft carriers in the world was 37 until April 2017 with many of such are in the pipeline and going to join their respective navies soon. America is said to have the largest number of aircraft carriers totaling 10 followed distantly by other countries.
Purpose of the Liaoning aircraft carrier
The induction of Liaoning aircraft carrier into the Chinese navy signifies many things. The first of them is to give an indication to the world that China is now a global power with the enough military capabilities to avert any kind of threat to its sovereignty. The second and the short term purposes are to assert its control in the South, and East China disputes to counter opposing navies in these waters and put pressure on the Taiwan’s leadership that any move towards freedom can bring disastrous results.
The involvement of Liaoning aircraft in the recent exercises conducted by the Chinese Navy in the South China Sea is a testament to the fact that the Chinese Navy in the future will use it in the combat role in possible sea battles. The construction of bases by the Chinese Navy in Gwadar (Pakistan), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Somalia, and Djibouti are also part of the Chinese effort to glorify itself as the Superpower in waiting. To safeguards their investments in these bases China Navy needs modernization on the massive level, and this aircraft carrier is one part of that modernization.
Induction of another aircraft carrier in the Chinese Navy
The Chinese Navy recently commissioned the first home-built aircraft carrier into its fold which will join the Liaoning aircraft carrier in the combat role till 2020, and it has been announced that another one is under construction. This will provide much needed military capability to the Chinese Navy to carry out operational activities in the seas far away from its territory and oppose its rivals in the South China Sea and other major disputes around the world.
What to expect in future?
The economic dominance of China in the world has prompted the Chinese leadership to acquire complementary military capabilities to safeguard its security and trade interests not only in the region but in the world of whole and military equipment of such kinds are a step towards that aim. Though used military hardware such as Liaoning aircraft carrier may not be in a position to challenge more sophisticated Navies like that of United States of America in the near future but will indeed give China much-needed leverage in the region that It is looking for.
About Muhammad Asim
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