News that China is building a second aircraft carrier was quickly deleted from web sites and social media after a leak by the government in Changzhou.
According to the Washington Post, on Sunday, the government located in eastern Jiangahu province, boasted that a local firm had won a contract to supply electrical cabling for the carrier. The post circulated widely before being deleted. A report was also withdrawn in a local newspaper.
Recent satellite images have made it clear that China is not keeping any secrets with its desire to expand their military presence, specifically its navy, and adding to their solo aircraft carrier. This is a reminder of the dynamic way in which it has proceeded to stake its territorial claims in the East and South China Seas in recent years.
A U.S. congressional commission predicted in December that the Chinese Navy would have more military vessels than its American counterpart, a warning that “the balance of power and presence” in Asia was shifting in China’s direction.
Chinese defense spending has been growing by double digits annually as they try to reach the United States in military capabilities. Col. Yang Yujun, China’s defense ministry spokesman said that the military training would focus on improving its capability to win “local wars.”
The Communist Party secretary of Liaoning province was reported last year saying that construction of a second carrier had begun where the first carrier is based, in the shipyard in Dalian, and should be completed by 2020.
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