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William Zheng

The launch of the Fujian, China’s third and most advanced aircraft carrier, has been cause for celebration in Chinese media, with mainland analysts hailing it as superior to its US counterparts and a force for projecting power further into the western Pacific.
But overseas analysts have been more tempered, suggesting that there is still a big gap between the naval force of the People’s Liberation Army and the United States in terms of the number of carriers, combat systems, personnel proficiency and operational experience.
In an event overseen by President Xi Jinping, China put its biggest and most sophisticated aircraft carrier into active service on Wednesday, marking a major step in Beijing’s ambition to modernise its navy to challenge the US in the Asia-Pacific and beyond.
It will be based at naval facilities in the southern city of Sanya, from where the PLA oversees operations in the South China Sea, the first and second island chains and into the Pacific.


Navy spokesman Leng Guowei said on Saturday that the decision to base the carrier in Sanya took into account “factors such as combat readiness needs, port conditions, support capabilities and mission characteristics”.
He said the carrier would make frequent appearances on the high seas but would also undergo further tests.
Leng added that it would not be long before the Fujian was fully outfitted with its carrier-based aircraft – the early warning KJ-600, the multi-role J-15T and the J-35 stealth jet.
The Fujian is the country’s biggest carrier and the first to be equipped with advanced electromagnetic catapults rather than ski jumps, allowing much heavier aircraft to take off from its deck.
Hong Kong-based military commentator Liang Guoliang said that despite being conventionally powered, the Fujian’s catapults would allow its aircraft to take off with more fuel and weapons, allowing it to identify and strike targets much further away than the previous two carriers.
“Coupled with better and bigger supply ships, it can operate beyond the second island chain, reaching even Hawaii,” Liang said, referring to a string of US military bases in the Pacific Ocean.




Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account operated by state broadcaster CCTV, also said the Fujian would “sail further” than the Liaoning and Shandong carriers, which operate mainly in the western Pacific because they do not have carrier-based early warning aircraft.
Quoting Zhang Junshe, retired Chinese navy senior colonel, it reported on Friday that the Fujian carrier “will be deployed in the eastern Pacific, Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, such as the waters near Guam, Hawaii, or Australia, in the future”.
“The Chinese navy has the right to navigate in these areas in accordance with international law and practice, and no country has the right to interfere,” the report said.
Zhang also told state-run Shenzhen TV that the catapults would allow the Fujian to handle more sorties. He said the Fujian could launch a J-15T fighter jet in just 90 seconds, and at surge capacity, handle 270 to 300 sorties per day, as compared to the Shandong’s 63 daily average.
The US’ Ford-class carrier, which is designed for 160 sorties a day, has a surge ability of 270 in 24 hours, according to Pentagon reports.
The Fujian’s electromagnetic catapult system is also a decade ahead of its US counterparts, mainland military commentator Liu Le told pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao.
“The difference between the Fujian and a similar US aircraft carrier is like a 5G phone and a 2G phone,” he was quoted as saying.


However, overseas defence analysts said that while the Fujian carrier did show some progress, the PLA’s carrier operations and tactics were still a work in progress.
Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the Fujian brought the PLA Navy closer to realising this dream of fighting “with parity” against the US carrier strike groups.
“Going by late [Chinese] Admiral Liu Huaqing’s conception, a future naval campaign is likely to take place in the maritime space between the first and second island chains, and this scenario would require the PLA Navy to muster the type of carrier formations that could match what the US Navy has,” he said.
He said that at best, with its existing abilities, the carrier would enable the PLA Navy to better project power beyond the first island chain and up to the second.
“The carrier itself is conventionally powered and there’s clearly a range and endurance limitation,” Koh said. “And so far, besides some limited exceptions, the PLA Navy major formations have barely operated beyond the Pacific between the first and second island chains.
“So with the Fujian we should realistically expect further refinement of PLA Navy capability to project force within this space, not yet beyond.”
He said the US Navy still had various advantages “especially when it comes to combat systems, personnel proficiency and leadership qualities in the context of real-world combat operations”.




Satoru Nagao, a fellow at Hudson Institute, also voiced caution, saying the Fujian could only be deployed beyond the second island chain “in peacetime”.
In wartime, he said, “the US will sink Fujian very easily” because there would be no land-based air and missile cover.
“China’s military power relies on land-based systems such as missiles, aeroplanes, etc,” he said.
China would not deploy its three aircraft carrier battle groups far from the mainland in war, to face the US Navy’s 11 bigger aircraft carriers, surface combatants and submarines, which were supported by long-range deployment capability from the continental US, he said.
“There is still a huge gap between the US and China,” he said.
China has the world’s largest navy, with more than 370 surface ships and submarines, according to Pentagon estimates, though the US still operates the most aircraft carriers of any country.
Nagao said the Fujian could contribute to a military operation against Taiwan by attacking from the Pacific side of the island.
“Taiwan is digging tunnels in the mountains on the Pacific side. If the PLA deploys aircraft carriers in the Pacific side of Taiwan, it can attack the entrance of the tunnels,” he said.
“However, the US, Japan and the Philippines have many missiles and planes to target the Pacific side of Taiwan.”


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The vessel will be a frequent visitor to the high seas but some observers say there is still a big gap with the US


The vessel will be a frequent visitor to the high seas but some observers say there is still a big gap with the US.


Can the Fujian aircraft carrier catapult the PLA Navy deep into the Pacific?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The vessel will be a frequent visitor to the high seas but some observers say there is still a big gap with the US

The vessel will be a frequent visitor to the high seas but some observers say there is still a big gap with the US