News Analysis
China is reportedly less than six months away from launching its third aircraft carrier. This is also the second carrier that it has constructed domestically (its first is an ex-Soviet vessel purchased by Beijing in the late 1990s).
China's first domestically manufactured aircraft carrier, known as "Type 001A"or “Shandong,” returns to port in Dalian, in China's northeastern Liaoning Province, after its first sea trial, on May 18, 2018. AFP via Getty Images
Richard A. Bitzinger
Author
Richard A. Bitzinger is an independent international security analyst. He was previously a senior fellow with the Military Transformations Program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, and he has held jobs in the U.S. government and at various think tanks. His research focuses on security and defense issues relating to the Asia-Pacific region, including the rise of China as a military power, and military modernization and arms proliferation in the region.
