On this episode of China Uncensored,
China’s peaceful military
just got more peaceful.
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,
I’m your host Chris Chappell.
Last week,
China launched its first aircraft carrier
that can proudly carry the label,
“Made in China.”
Why, they even broke a champagne bottle on it
and it didn’t sink.
Xinhua reported the new aircraft carrier
comes complete with “propulsion
and electricity installed.”
That means no more paddling.
Now this is a big deal for China.
How big?
Well, I think the Register put it best—
it’s 2.1 brontosaurus big.
That's about one brontosaurus shorter
than the Empire State Building.
The yet-unnamed aircraft carrier
is based on a Soviet design
and can carry 69 aircraft.
China’s other aircraft carrier,
the Liaoning,
is a refurbished one bought off Ukraine
during the Soviet Union’s
going out of business sale.
Type 001A, as it’s known
now will be fully operational by 2020.
And don’t worry,
state-run Xinhua assures us,
it’s all part of China’s “peaceful development...
as well as to protect world peace.”
Ah, world peace.
I guess Xinhua is getting ready for pageant season.
World Peace.
World peace.
World peace!
Definitely world peace!
It will be particularly good
for protecting the peace
in China’s territory in the South China Sea
from those no-good, invading
Filipino fishermen.
The new aircraft carrier was launched
as part of a celebration marking the 68th anniversary
of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
It’s a little confusing because
they have the word “army” in there,
whether it’s the People’s Liberation Army Air Force,
People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force
or even the People’s Liberation Army Army.
Maybe that's one of the things
that Xi Jinping will be streamlining.
Anyway, the People's Liberation Army Navy celebration
was not without SNAFU—
a Chinese term meaning
the Party planned it that way all along.
The Ministry of National Defense
released this image on its social media account
of the Liaoning.
Apart from it looking terrible,
as Chinese netizens were quick to point out,
that’s a Russian jet,
those are US destroyers,
and those J-10 jet fighters,
while indeed Chinese planes,
are not the J-15s that are actually found
on the Liaoning.
To be fair,
it is much better than other government
photoshop attempts.
Now they built this incredibly fast—
in only four years.
And according to a Defense Ministry Spokesman,
the lessons learned from building it
“will help China build more carriers
faster in the future and enable them
to reach combat readiness quicker."
By comparison,
the United States latest aircraft carrier,
the USS Gerald Ford,
began construction eight years ago,
launched in 2013,
and is still being worked on.
Probably because it kept falling down stairs.
It is a more advanced aircraft carrier,
but the US has been building aircraft carriers
since World War 2.
Which explains why the USS Gerald Ford
is 2.4 brontosaurus big.
But bigger isn't always better.
Is this the start of a new and formidable Chinese navy
capable of projecting its power throughout the region?
Well, not so fast.
The speed with which
this new aircraft carrier was built
should be your first clue
something isn’t right.
There are huge technological gaps
between this new Chinese aircraft carrier and others,
particularly with US carriers.
The engines are steam powered,
rather than nuclear.
It's about half the size of the the Ford.
It also relies on a ski jump ramp
to get aircraft into the air,
versus the catapult system the US has been using
since World War II.
The problems go deeper.
Like a lack of a joint operations command.
That’s how the different branches of military
talk to each other.
Even with a shiny new aircraft carrier,
without a functioning joint command,
the PLA’s ability to project power
will be stunted.
I spoke to Senior Researcher and Defense Analyst
Andy Wolf, who described it
“like trying to get a baseball team,
a chess team and a racing team
to become a professional hockey team overnight.”
Well that sounds easy.
And explains why the New York Rangers
have recruited Derek Jeter, Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
and Garry Kasparov for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Another issue is,
China needed this yesterday.
If the US is carrying out military action
in its backyard to deter North Korea,
and there aren’t any Chinese naval vessels around,
that makes China look weak.
That’s why Mr. Wolf also told me his sources
in the Chinese military have said
there’s been a surge in military activity
along the coast
and some bases have been ordered
on high alert.
But hey,
the Chinese regime is saying they’ve already started
on a Type 002 aircraft carrier,
which will have a catapult system.
Then, they could have up to four nuclear-powered
Type 003s completed in the 2020s
that could rival US aircraft carriers.
And then the PLA Navy would truly be
a high-tech model
of peaceful development…
and world peace.
So what do you think
of China’s new aircraft carrier?
And more importantly,
what do you think it should be named?
I'm going with Aircraft McCarrier Face.
Leave your suggestions below.
Once again, I’m your host Chris Chappell,
thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.