China could build aircraft carrier by 2010
09 Mar 2007
Hong Kong: China may be in a position to build its first aircraft carrier by 2010 if all goes well with its research and development efforts, according to a Hong Kong newspaper. The report cites a Chinese "general" as its source.
The daily, Wen Wei Po, funded by Beijing, has identified its source as a "zhong jiang," meaning lieutenant general or vice admiral, depending on the service, and a member of the military delegation at a parliament session in Beijing. It did not give further details.
According to defence experts, China has been involved with R&D work on aircraft carriers for some time now, though it has yet to make a formal announcement that it may be contemplating a building programme.
The news comes on the back of an announcement earlier in the week, that the communist regime had hiked its annual defence outlay by a whopping 17.8 per cent, a double-digit increase, some say for the 19th straight year. Others put the figure at 15.
There is also considerable speculation that officially declared Chinese figures hide more than they reveal, and that Beijing's spending may be three or four times more than it actually reveals.
