China has unveiled the latest appearance of its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian. As the Fujian is expected to play a key role in Taiwan’s attack strategy, it is interpreted as an attempt to increase pressure ahead of Taiwan’s presidential election scheduled to be held next week.
According to local media such as China Global Network on the 3rd, the previous day, state-run CCTV introduced footage of Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers training in its main news, New Lianbo.
In a three-minute report, Xinhua News Agency said, “President Xi Jinping’s 2024 New Year’s address is receiving a warm response from all military units,” and “All soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army are working together to achieve the goal of establishing a 100-year military.” “There is,” he introduced.
Meanwhile, CCTV revealed training footage of the Air Force, Army, and Navy from various regions using various equipment.
Among these, the most eye-catching is the appearance of China’s aircraft carrier Fujian. It is known that the Fujian will be used to block US troops stationed in Guam and Okinawa, Japan from supporting Taiwan from the east.
Yun Hongxin, who is performing a mission on the Fujian, told CCTV, “As a result of always keeping in mind the important mission given by President Xi Jinping and working hard on the aircraft carrier project, we pushed ahead with the docking test as planned,” and added, “In the new year, we will work hard morning and evening to form combat power as soon as possible.” “We will work hard to do this and move forward vigorously to achieve the goal of 100 years of military construction,” he said.
Fujian is China’s third diesel-powered aircraft carrier. She displaces approximately 80,000 tons and is 320 meters long and 73 meters wide, making her comparable to the US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.
Unlike the Liaoning and Shandong, which have a ski jump platform that lifts the bow by about 12 degrees to take off aircraft, the Fujian is equipped with an electronic catapult (a type of catapult that launches aircraft from the deck) seen on American Ford-class aircraft carriers.
The electronic catapult uses steam or electromagnetism to rapidly accelerate the aircraft to over 250 km/h and launch it, so it has the advantage of being able to take off a heavier aircraft, resulting in significantly higher combat power.
(Beijing = News 1)
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.