BEIJING (AFP) – An aircraft carrier in the Pacific and a newly upgraded combat aircraft: China’s military is showing off its newest equipment less than a month before the swearing-in of US President-elect Donald Trump.
In recent days state media announced that the country’s only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was on its way to the Pacific for the first time, while a new fighter, the FC-31, had its debut flight test.
They are the latest steps in the years-long build-up of China’s military, as Beijing seeks greater global power to match its economic might and asserts itself more aggressively in its own backyard.
In mid-December the Chinese navy announced that the vessel had conducted its first live-fire exercises, including tests with a dozen missiles.
This photo taken on December 23 shows Chinese J-15 fighter jets on the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier during military drills in the Yellow Sea, off China’s east coast. – AFP
Beijing says the exercises are routine, but state media have expressed pleasure that the Liaoning is battle-ready.
“Aircraft carriers are strategic tools which should be used to show China’s strength to the world and shape the outside world’s attitude toward China,” said the often nationalist Global Times.
Although the US spends far more on its military than China does, Beijing’s growing assertiveness in strategic regions like the South China Sea coupled with the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s policies has set off jitters among Washington’s allies in Asia.
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