By IANS,
Beijing : China, which launched an aircraft carrier Tuesday, has dismissed foreign media reports that said it was building a second aircraft carrier in Shanghai and that it will be launched later this year.
“Such reports are inaccurate,” Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, delivered and commissioned to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Tuesday, will be used to conduct scientific experiments and military training.
Yang said China will plan the development of aircraft carriers in an “all-round way”, taking its national economic and social development and the needs of national defence and military construction into account.
He said the first carrier was a “milestone in our military history and a major achievement of our navy building”.
“But this is only the first step of our aircraft carrier development. We still have a long way to go,” he said.
Asked to confirm reports that the navy will create an aircraft carrier formation in the future and build an aircraft carrier base in the eastern city of Qingdao, Yang said: “The formation is generally made up of the aircraft carrier itself, escort vessels, submarines and aircraft. China will study the issue in accordance with the development and real needs of the aircraft carrier.”
On the aircraft carrier’s impact on China’s surrounding areas, Yang said his country adheres to the path of peaceful development, independent foreign policy and pursues a defensive national policy.