Apparently it has arrived on the northern sea port of Dalian—away from the two other carriers in Shenzhen that were turned into floating amusement centers. The Chinese intentions have become obvious at this point:
March 05, 2002
China pays £17m for giant Soviet carrier
From Oliver August in Beijing
CHINA has taken delivery of a Ukrainian aircraft carrier and will try to copy the decommissioned vessel in an attempt to expand its naval power.
A Chinese shipyard confirmed yesterday the arrival of the carrier in the northern port city of Dalian, where military experts are expected to use the vessel as a template for China’s own carrier design.
The 1,000ft Varyag is the largest of at least three former Soviet carriers acquired by China. All the vessels were bought by private companies, allegedly with links to the military, which invited naval architects from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to inspect them.
A Western diplomat in Beijing said: “They already have a design on their computers ready for the day when they decide to build their own carrier. They will extract the best parts of the Varyag’s design and add them to their own.”
The Varyag, built a decade ago, was towed from the Black Sea around the Cape to the Yellow Sea. The Soviet Navy never finished building the vessel owing to a lack of funds after the end of the Cold War. The hull is not fitted with any electronic or hydraulic equipment.
It was supposed to be turned into a casino in Macau, according to the official Chinese buyer, a company called Chong Lot that has no known links to the gaming sector but has been linked to the military. When Macau awarded new casino licences last month, Chong Lot was not among successful bidders.
Analysts believe that instead the PLA could use the Varyag as a training platform for carrier take-offs and landings. The purchase and towing of the carrier has cost about £17.5 million, probably making it too expensive for use as an entertainment facility. China paid the Ukrainian Government £14 million for the hull and the Turkish Government at least £210,000 as a transit fee. The towing is said to have cost between £2 million and £3.5 million.
China’s other two decommissioned ex-Soviet carriers have been turned into floating amusement parks moored in the coastal cities of Shenzhen and Tianjin. Under pressure from Washington, the carriers were stripped of their most sensitive technology before Beijing was able to buy them.
Robert Karniol, the Asia editor of Jane’s Defence Weekly, said: “The Chinese haven’t seen this type of carrier before and it could be very useful to them. They are trying to vacuum up as much knowhow as they can.”
Beijing has long harboured plans to build aircraft carriers to catch up with the United States in terms of power projection. Liu Huaqing, a recently retired senior general who fought with Chairman Mao in the 1930s, has spoken of the 21st century as the “century of the sea” and called for rapid naval modernisation.
In response, the US Navy has said that Chinese plans could upset the regional balance of power. Independent experts say, however, that the launch of a Chinese carrier is still many years away. China’s shipyards are believed to be able to build carrier hulls, but not the catapults to launch and recover aircraft. However, former Soviet naval architects may be available to help.
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March 6, 2002 at 1:58 am