China’s 2nd aircraft carrier now for ‘equipment installation’

From Update.PH (Mar 10): China’s 2nd aircraft carrier now for ‘equipment installation’

China’s second aircraft carrier is now for ‘equipment installation’, according to Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) Deputy Chief-of-staff Wang Weiming.

“The aircraft carrier’s hull blocks have been joined at the shipyard, and equipment installation is currently underway,” he told Chinese state-media Xinhua at the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, March 9.

However, Academy of Military Sciences researcher Chen Zhou told Beijing Youth Daily that China will not compete with United States.

United States military now has 10 active nuclear-powered Nimitz-class supercarriers, 1 Gerald R. Ford-class supercarrier awaiting commissioning, 1 Ford-class supercarrier under-construction, and 1 planned Ford-class supercarrier. The Ford-class supercarriers will replace 3 Nimitz-class supercarriers.

“The number of China’s future carriers depends on the country’s strategic and military needs. We will not compete with the U.S. to build a fleet of 12 carriers, which is not necessary for China, as the country pursues a national defense policy that is purely defensive in nature,” Chen Zhou said.

http://www.update.ph/2017/03/chinas-2nd-aircraft-carrier-now-for-equipment-installation/15592