Okay, now that the double-standard Japanese-Briton and the Indian troll has taken a rest, I just want to intervene and say that the lines on this flat-top are the most beautiful of all carriers operational. Would you agree? The curving ski-jump just makes it so much more beautiful, and she seems to be in way better shape than the Kuznet.

My timeline as to when it will become fully operational:
2014

I am a bit sad that it has FLANKERS on it, I am hoping the PLAN will come up with a smaller plane that is more STOL, so more can fit in, and it is more efficient.

Smaller planes probably won’t have enough range for whatever ops the plan wants to undertake with it’s carrier. And i don’t think being a smaller fighter will help that much than being a larger one because engine thrust will be less as well/smaller engines?

Blitzo, you don’t need carriers to protect chinese shipping in long patrols. Nor do you need them for disaster relied. LPDs are much more useful than carriers full of munitions and purpose kit.

Projecting power is the right answer & that is entirely what the debate was about, instead of all this irrelevant sidetrack about a mythical Japanese threat. Carriers are powerful statements of intent. Thats about it. Could have just agreed on that in the beginning & everyone could have walked on.

A carrier with helicopters full of supplies instead of jets, and its comprehensive hospital wing would not be unhelpful for disaster relief… (They’re building LPDs too just for the record) And in times of crisis a carrier is far superior than a few frigates in protecting shipping, air cover and all. In times of peace the protection of shipping is more for projecting power and showing the flag.
Besides, projecting power includes the above two examples but okay. My point was that the reason for PLAN having carriers is not due to disputes in the SCS with neighbours, and they will certainly not be confined there.

America’s inaction on the F-16s is because of chinese pressure, not because the mainland might be able to crack F-16’s secrets… It’s not like ROCAF pilots regularly defect or anything.

Not quite sure what you’re trying to say by “your government” either.

By engineer over on SDF

The ship number is going to be 01.

This says 88Y.

This says 01Y.

Back on topic:

Carrier returns to Dalian after maiden sea trial
Updated: 2011-08-15 07:36
By Zhao Lei (China Daily)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-08/15/content_13109461.htm

BEIJING – The country’s first aircraft carrier finished its maiden sea trial on Sunday and returned to port in Dalian, Northeast China’s Liaoning province, domestic media reported.

At about 10:30 am, the carrier, which was known as the “Varyag” when at the Black Sea Shipyard in Ukraine, broke through a thick fog and appeared about 3 kilometers east of the docks of the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd, which refitted the giant ship, according to the Beijing-based Mirror Evening News.

Carrier returns to Dalian after maiden sea trial

Accompanied by seven tugboats, China’s first aircraft carrier breaks through a thick fog to appear near the docks of the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd in Northeast China’s Liaoning province, August 14, 2011. [Photo/CFP]

At least seven tugboats guided the vessel to the dock, the report said.

Naval officers on the deck were seen “leisurely strolling”, it added. The aircraft carrier sounded its horn three times as it approached the shipyard, exactly as it did when departing on Wednesday.

People waiting on the dock lit firecrackers to welcome the returning carrier, as seen in a video clip shot by a military fan that was posted on fyjs.cn, a major Chinese military forum.

At 11:30 am, the vessel, surrounded by the tugboats, docked.

An hour later, another huge ship bearing hull number 88 returned to the place where it had been anchored near the carrier’s berth, said the Mirror Evening News.

The conclusion of the sea trial sparked a new round of online jubilation by Chinese military enthusiasts, who have been closely following every step of the vessel’s refitting and sharing photos and information about the ship on military websites.

“I think the aircraft carrier is now more powerful and mighty after it successfully conducted the trial,” said netizen “feibaoluyang” on fyjs.cn.

“I shall have a big drink with my friends tonight!”

Some fans in Dalian said they had the honor of witnessing the return of “Mother Varyag”, nickname given by naval enthusiasts to the ship.

“I saw the Five-Star Red Flag, our national flag, flying at the top of the superstructure, which excited me the most,” a Dalian resident and military fan surnamed Liu told China Daily on Sunday.

“When the ship came into sight, I found I couldn’t take a good picture since my hands were trembling. There were no helicopters or airplanes on deck, but that didn’t sour our happiness.”

Fans are fiercely debating topics such as when the as-yet-unnamed “aircraft carrier platform”, the term used by the Chinese military authorities, will enter active service and whether airplanes actually tried to land on the deck during the five-day trial voyage.

Early media reports cited unidentified military sources as saying that the vessel is supposed to be handed over to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy around Aug 1 next year, which will be the PLA’s 85th anniversary.

Zhang Xiaomin contributed to this story.

So basically this thread is going down in flames.

Sorry for mentioning india in the first place, I never meant to challenge its military spending at all or its relationship with China but was using it (and other countries in general) as a rejection of the idea that you must have all this social welfare in place before you start spending on your navy.

Though I suppose any thread about China and aircraft carriers will have devolved to this.

Invasion and mass murder aren’t the only thing a weak military allows enemies to do. The whole gamut from blockade to denial of access to sawing off of sovereign territory are there as options for Japan as long as China’s military is kept weak.

But the collective memory can’t forget the invasion and mass murder committed by Japan any more than Israel can forget the Holocaust. China and the Chinese race would have to be stupid if it didn’t prepare for the worst case scenario. Just like the Israel would be stupid if it didn’t prepare the same way.

And what guarantee is there that Japan who won’t attempt a 1895? This was limited warfare to embarrass China and weaken Chinese control its periphery. China lost Taiwan and the Daiyutais at the time. Okinawa also went from an autonomous state allied to the Ch’ing to Japanese territory.

The only thing I disagree with is the implicit idea that Japan will try to attempt similar actions towards china in the near future.
Past experience from sino-japanese wars, Japan’s current military strength and its alliance with america imo are more valid reasons for china’s military modernization on the subject of the land of the rising sun, than a potential scenario of Japan invading mainland china.