China on Friday officially launched a third aircraft carrier during a ceremony marking the landing of the ship at a shipyard in Shanghai, sending a message to rival powers, most importantly the United States, as it continues to modernize and strengthen its army.
This is the third aircraft carrier to be built entirely in China, and it is much more advanced than the previous two carriers, and it will not be delivered to the Navy until after several trials at sea.
This carrier is distinguished from the other two carriers by its large size, as well as a catapult for launching aircraft, while the previous two carriers have a platform for taking off aircraft.
The catapult system allows the aircraft to carry a larger amount of fuel and weapons, and this advanced system will work with electromagnetic energy, according to what was confirmed by the new China News Agency (Xinhua), without specifying a date for the delivery of the aircraft carrier and putting it into service.
The aircraft carrier was named "Fujian" after a Chinese province, similar to the previous two carriers, "Liaoning" and "Shandong".
Tension over Taiwan
The landing of the carrier in the waters came amid high tensions between China and the United States over the island of Taiwan, with a population of 24 million people, which Beijing considers a province of it.
In recent years, the Chinese Navy has transited its aircraft carriers in the Taiwan Strait.
The first Chinese aircraft carrier, "Liaoning", was put into service in 2012 and is mainly used as a training platform.
The experience gained from it allowed the construction of the first aircraft carrier in China, called "Shandong", and it was put into service at the end of 2019.
According to the Jane's Military Information Reference Agency, the United States has the largest number of aircraft carriers in service (11), followed by China (2) (before the launch of the third ship), the United Kingdom (2), Russia (1), France (1) and Italy. (1) India (1) and Thailand (1).