[h=3]Associated Press[/h]BEIJING—China says its first aircraft carrier has formally entered service, although it is not expected to take on planes for some time.
The Defense Ministry's announcement Tuesday had long been expected and was not directly linked to current tensions with Japan over a disputed group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Still, the ship's launch underscores China's ambition to possess a complete blue-water navy—that is, one able to operate far from its shores.
Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesCina's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, docked Monday in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning province
The carrier is a former Soviet ship once called Varyag, which was towed from Ukraine in 1998 minus its engines, weaponry and navigation systems. Christened Liaoning after the northeastern province where it is based, the ship began sea trials in August following years of refurbishment.
China is developing at least one type of carrier aircraft based on Russia's Sukhoi Su-33.
The Defense Ministry's announcement Tuesday had long been expected and was not directly linked to current tensions with Japan over a disputed group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Still, the ship's launch underscores China's ambition to possess a complete blue-water navy—that is, one able to operate far from its shores.
Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesCina's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, docked Monday in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning province
The carrier is a former Soviet ship once called Varyag, which was towed from Ukraine in 1998 minus its engines, weaponry and navigation systems. Christened Liaoning after the northeastern province where it is based, the ship began sea trials in August following years of refurbishment.
China is developing at least one type of carrier aircraft based on Russia's Sukhoi Su-33.