China announced the delivery and commissioning Tuesday of its second aircraft carrier — and its first built domestically — while also revealing the vessel’s name, the Shandong, state-run media reported.
The carrier entered service at its new home, a naval base in Sanya on Hainan Island, “at the doorstep of the South China Sea,” after a “grand commissioning ceremony” overseen by President Xi Jinping, the Global Times said in a report.
The announcement came after it underwent a refitting and sea trials in the wake of its 2017 launch, and is a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to build up its naval power, a push that has been viewed warily by Japan and the U.S..
The vessel passed through the Taiwan Strait for “scientific trials and routine training” last month and headed to the South China Sea.
The ship was expected to be commissioned officially in April, but its trial phase took longer than some analysts had expected, suggesting it had suffered technical problems.
China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, a refitted Soviet Kuznetsov-class vessel, underwent 13 months of trials before it was commissioned.
The Shandong is a modified version of the Kuznetsov-class design that features upgraded radar and bridge systems and a ski-jump deck for takeoffs.
The ship will be able to carry 36 J-15 fighter jets compared with the Liaoning’s capacity of 24.
Choosing Sanya as its home base will give the vessel easy access to the disputed South China Sea.
Beijing claims much of the strategic waterway, though the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims in the waters, where the Chinese, U.S., Japanese and some Southeast Asian navies routinely operate.
Neither Japan nor the U.S. has claims there, but both allies routinely have stated their commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Washington has lambasted Beijing for its moves in the South China Sea, including the construction of man-made islands — such as those in the Paracel chain and farther south in the Spratlys — some of which are home to military-grade airfields and advanced weaponry.
The U.S. fears the outposts could be used to restrict free movement in the waterway, which includes vital sea lanes through which about $3 trillion in global trade passes each year. The U.S. military regularly conducts freedom-of-navigation operations in the area.
Beijing says it has deployed the advanced weaponry to the islets for defensive purposes, but some experts say this is part of a concerted bid to cement de facto control of the waters.
