China’s first aircraft carrier has been berthed in the port of Dalian, Liaoning for seven years during which journalist and naval fans were free to take photos. But it suddenly became a military secret in the past week, and especially when it set out for its sea trial in the dark, foggy morning of Aug. 10, taking footage was strictly verboten.
The carrier’s preparations for its maiden voyage have attracted global attention since April, from governments, journalists, and naval aficionados.
According to Hong Kong’s Ming Pao, for the past few days national security officers have searched and questioned military fans who lingered in the area and even went to hotel rooms to keep Japanese and mainland journalists from going out to report the event.
When reporters from Japan’s NNN TV were ready to film the sea trial in the morning of Aug. 10, police showed up and forced them to stay in their hotel room for two hours—until after the carrier had left the port.
A reporter from Hong Kong Commercial Daily was interrogated by police for two hours for trying to take pictures near the scene, Ming Pao reported, quoting another reporter from Hong Kong Commercial Daily.
Prior to that, military personnel interrogated a journalist from Tianjin and confiscated his video tapes.
Many military fans on the mainland who were initially proud and looking forward to the first sea trial were disappointed and angry.
One blogger commented that the sea trial was conducted “covertly and stealthily.”
Another wrote, “I even cried, not because I was emotional, but because I was mad.”
A Dalian resident, who lives nearby, avidly follows the carrier’s progress and went to check it out on a daily basis. He said he was “invited for a tea” and questioned by authorities. “It seemed like I was in danger,” he wrote.
Huang Dong, chairman of International Military Association in Macau, told Ming Pao that the carrier left the port “covertly” in a dark foggy morning to avoid military fans and media, but most importantly to escape being detected by satellite, since most satellites are good for taking pictures during daytime only.
What kind of secrets the Chinese navy is apparently trying to keep the public from knowing remain a mystery.
According to Apple Daily, on Aug. 11, Zhang Xusan, a former navy deputy commander, revealed that in the late 1990s, the Chinese Navy had sent delegates to the Ukraine five times to negotiate a deal to purchase the vessel, formerly known as Varyag.
At the time, it was estimated that it would cost about 70 billion yuan to renovate and outfit the carrier, which is worth about US$9 billion today and about twice the cost of building a US Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the Apple Daily report said. The Chinese regime, which prizes its secrecy, has not stated the carrier project’s cost.
[email protected]
