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Will China’s fourth aircraft carrier steer towards troubled waters in Asia and challenge the US Navy?
- The US Navy has an edge over its Chinese counterparts in terms of firepower and access to its supply bases in the region, analysts say
- Smaller Asian countries can learn from the Ukraine war and deploy assets such as drones and sea mines to counter China’s expanding naval presence
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China’s fourth aircraft carrier is expected to help expand its maritime presence in Asia, but a lack of naval combat experience and insufficient supply bases in the region could hamper its power projection.
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While the mainland Chinese military’s focus for its aircraft carrier deployment is likely Taiwan, it could also engage in sabre-rattling measures in the South China Sea, security analysts say.
During a legislative session in Beijing earlier this month, Yuan Huazhi, the political commissar of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, said China would unveil its fourth aircraft carrier soon.
When asked in an interview if the latest carrier is going to be nuclear-powered, Yuan said details of the vessel would be announced “soon”, according to a video posted by the Hong Kong Commercial Daily on the social media platform Weibo.
There had been no delays or bottlenecks in the construction of the new carrier, Yuan said. His comments were the first confirmation of China’s efforts to build its fourth aircraft carrier, commonly known as the Type 004.
Illustrations of the vessel have been circulating online, with the artwork purportedly coming from the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai, where it is believed to be under construction.
Abdul Rahman Yaacob, a research fellow in the Southeast Asia programme at Australia’s Lowy Institute, said if the fourth aircraft carrier is fuelled by nuclear power, it could operate “power-hungry” weapon systems and equipment.
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