China building two aircraft carriers:
Taiwan defense ministry report
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[September 03, 2015]
By J.R. Wu
TAIPEI (Reuters) - China is building two
aircraft carriers that will be the same size as its sole carrier, a
60,000-tonne refurbished Soviet-era ship, according to a new Taiwanese
Defence Ministry report on the capabilities of the People's Liberation
Army (PLA).
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Little is known about China's aircraft carrier program, which is a
state secret, although Chinese state media have hinted new vessels
are being built. The Pentagon, in a report earlier this year, said
Beijing could build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15
years.
One of the new vessels is being built in Shanghai and the other in
the northeastern city of Dalian, said the Taiwanese report, which
was obtained by Reuters.
It gave no estimate for when construction would be finished.
The Chinese Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a
request for comment. China is on a three-day national holiday to
commemorate victory over Japan in World War Two.
A Taiwanese Defence Ministry spokesman said details on the carrier
program came from the ministry's intelligence unit. He declined to
give further details on the report, which was sent to parliament
this week.
Taiwanese intelligence agencies closely monitor Chinese military
developments because Beijing has never renounced the use of force to
take back what it deems a renegade province.
As carriers are commissioned for service into China's navy, a
command unit would be set up with "the goal to unify power and
accelerate combat capabilities", the report added.
The Liaoning, a carrier bought from Ukraine in 1998 and refitted in
China, has taken part in military exercises, including in the
disputed South China Sea, but is not yet fully operational.
Successfully operating the Liaoning is the first step in what some
military experts believe will be the deployment of Chinese-built
carriers by 2020.
The Taiwanese report added that of China's 1.24 million-strong
ground forces, 400,000 could be used in combat against the island.
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Chinese special forces had held mock battles at the Zhurihe training
base in Inner Mongolia using a full-scale model of Taiwan's
presidential office and nearby government buildings and roads, the
report said.
The PLA's Second Artillery Force and bombers had also practiced
attacks in an area near Dingxin air force base in Gansu province
that is modeled on Taichung Airport in central Taiwan, which is used
for both commercial and military purposes, the report said.
China-Taiwan ties have generally improved under Taiwan President Ma
Ying-jeou, but China has maintained that any declaration of
independence or moves toward independence would prompt it to use
force to take back the island.
Taiwan has been self-ruled since 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek fled to
Taiwan with his Nationalist forces after losing a civil war with Mao
Zedong's Communists.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Dean
Yates)
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