China launched its second aircraft carrier-and the first one entirely home-built-taking another stride in its quest for a world-class navy that can protect Chinese economic and security interests far from its shores.
Adorned with colorful ribbons, the Type 001A ship "transferred from dry dock into the water at a launch ceremony" in the northeastern port city of Dalian, according to official broadcaster CCTV.
The aircraft carrier - the second in a planned fleet of as many as six such ships - was based on the design of the Liaoning, a Soviet vessel China bought from Ukraine, refitted and put to sea nearly six years ago.
Chinese naval strategists see the carrier program not only as a means to protect their country's maritime interests, but also to have "naval power commensurate with China's global status, to impress both external and domestic audiences", said Michael Chase, an expert on the Chinese military at USA think tank the RAND Corporation.
The new carrier is 315m long, 75m wide and has a cruising speed of 31 knots.
The carrier was patterned to China's first aircraft carrier Liaoning, an ex-Soviet carrier.
Development of the new carrier began in 2013 and moved into high-gear in 2015.
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The launch was attended by the vice-president of China's central military commission, Fan Changlong.
The new carrier's name and hull code have yet to be released.
The new conventionally powered carrier will be able to operate China's Shenyang J-15 fighter jets.
The ship, which now does not have a name, is China's first domestically built and second overall carrier, the BBC reported.
"The country would have finished work on it several years ago if Beijing had simply wanted to engage in an arms race to have more influence in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions", the article said in defence of China deploying its first aircraft carrier in 1912. The Liaoning is about 55,000 tons, while the Type 001A will be 70,000 tons. The ship is not expected to be as technologically advanced as the current Nimitz class of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, and even further behind the Gerald Ford class, which is now being tested.
"China seeks to become a major world power, and one of the hallmarks of such a status is blue-water capability and the ability to project military might globally", Chiu wrote for CNN in March.
The Type 002 carrier will most likely retain standard steam-driven catapults because "it's impossible to develop a completely new generation carrier in just a few years", said Li, who published a book about the Ford-class carrier this month.
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