1-5-2024 (BEIJING) In a display of China’s growing naval might, the nation’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, embarked on its inaugural sea trials on Wednesday, setting sail from Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard at approximately 8 a.m. local time. According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, the primary objective of these manoeuvres is to evaluate the vessel’s propulsion and electrical systems, marking a significant milestone in Beijing’s relentless pursuit of military modernization.
The departure of the Fujian, equipped with cutting-edge electromagnetic catapults for launching fighter jets, coincides with escalating tensions in both the East and South China Seas. Merely a day prior, Chinese ships engaged in a tense standoff with Philippine vessels, firing water cannons in a brazen assertion of Beijing’s territorial claims in the disputed waters.
Moreover, the carrier’s maiden voyage closely follows a visit by a group of Japanese lawmakers, including former Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, to the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea over the weekend. Japan, which administers the islets and firmly rejects any disputes over their sovereignty, promptly lodged a diplomatic protest against China, which refers to the islands as Diaoyu and claims them as its own.
Adding fuel to the simmering tensions, the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration declared a substantial area of the East China Sea off-limits to maritime traffic from May 1 to 9, citing scheduled “military activities.” Political commentator Su Hao suggested that the timing of this notice and the aircraft carrier trials were no mere coincidence, asserting that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) naval operations, characterized as “military activity” rather than training, could allow for “more targeted” countermeasures against Japan.
Scheduled for commissioning in 2025, the Fujian promises to significantly enhance China’s ability to project power across the region and beyond. Technologically, the PLA Navy’s third carrier represents a substantial leap forward compared to its predecessors, the Liaoning, originally built for the Soviet Navy, and the domestically constructed Shandong, which borrowed the outdated “ski jump” design.
“The new carrier is much more capable than the Liaoning and Shandong,” asserted Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. The introduction of electromagnetic catapults, he explained, will enable China to overcome the limitations of the ski-jump decks, allowing each jet to carry a greater payload of bombs and missiles, thus “generating more combat power.”
However, Koh acknowledged that the efficacy of the system remains uncertain, as electromagnetic catapults are “actually very power consuming.” The success of the system, he noted, will depend on China’s ability to efficiently utilize available power resources.
The United States, too, has introduced electromagnetic catapults on its carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, replacing traditional steam catapults, underscoring the global race for naval supremacy.
According to Hong Kong media reports, the PLA Navy intends to boast a formidable fleet of six aircraft carriers by 2035. Adm. Yuan Huazhi, the navy’s political commissar, revealed that China is currently constructing its fourth carrier while simultaneously bolstering its guided missile destroyer contingent to protect the carriers.
Koh opined that China has gained “quite a lot of insights” through the process of converting the Liaoning for its navy, and that its approach to carriers is still evolving. “I don’t think the Fujian is a definitely final design,” he said, suggesting that it might serve as “the baseline design for the Chinese carrier program going forward,” with subsequent units becoming increasingly advanced.
As China flexes its maritime muscle, Japan, which is ramping up its own defense spending alongside the rest of East Asia, is keeping a wary eye on Beijing’s growing naval presence. A report issued by Japan’s Ministry of Defense in March stated that China appears to be attempting “to make its activities routine in the Sea of Japan and Pacific Ocean in addition to the sea area around the Senkaku Islands.” The report further noted that the PLA has “rapidly expanded and intensified [their] activities in the maritime and aerial domains.”
While China tests the waters with Japan, it is concurrently asserting itself through frequent incursions around Taiwan and bold maneuvers in the South China Sea. On Wednesday, the head of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, Tsai Ming-yen, cautioned that Taipei would remain vigilant for potential Chinese military drills from June through November, following the inauguration of President-elect Lai Ching-te on May 20. “Whether the Chinese Communists use this hot season as an excuse to carry out some military drills to further pressure Taiwan is a key point the National Security Bureau is focusing on,” Tsai told the media.
China’s third aircraft carrier CV Fujian left the pier to conduct its first sea trials this morning. pic.twitter.com/vXQYegZrgj
— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 1, 2024
Meanwhile, in the South China Sea, tensions flared on Tuesday when the Philippine Coast Guard announced that China Coast Guard ships and maritime militia vessels had conducted “dangerous maneuvers and obstruction” against Philippine vessels near Scarborough Shoal. According to the Philippine statement, Beijing’s boats fired “their jet stream water cannons, targeting the PCG vessel from both sides, resulting in damage to the railing and canopy.”
A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the accusations, claiming that the Philippine vessels had “intruded without China’s permission,” and that the coast guard “took necessary measures to drive them away.” Beijing’s actions blatantly disregard the 2016 ruling by the international Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which ruled against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Jay Tarriela, a Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his dismay, asserting that Tuesday’s incident “highlights China’s lack of concern for regional peace and stability.”
However, the China challenge has inadvertently brought Indo-Pacific partners closer together. The United States, Japan, and the Philippines held their first trilateral leaders’ summit in Washington earlier this month, vowing to hold “many more” such meetings. On Thursday, the three countries’ defense ministers, joined by Australia, are scheduled to convene in Hawaii for follow-up security talks, underscoring the growing coalescence of regional powers in the face of Beijing’s assertive posture.
