Hypotheses and reality
Chen's confirmation did not put an end to all the speculation over China's first carrier. On the contrary, it opened several new topics for media and military fans to contemplate, such as: Where is it being built? And how many carriers does China plan to build?
The Western media reports predicted earlier that the first aircraft carrier will begin its initial sea trial in early August.
Reuters, for instance, said in a report published on July 22 that the Varyag will be trial-tested "within weeks." The US-based Strategypage.com also said on July 21 that the crew was under training for the trial test in August.
Besides the trial date, military experts, as well as enthusiastic web users, have been intensely discussing how many aircraft carriers China plans to build.
Many experts, including Li Jie, have said that China should have at least three aircraft carriers to protect its maritime interests.
Han Xudong, a professor at the National Defense University, said China at least needs three to five aircraft carriers to form two aircraft carrier battle groups, which can be deployed at the northern and southern parts of the Taiwan Strait.
"If these areas are the eyes of China, then we need the carriers there for us to see better," Han said.
Nevertheless, China still faces many technical challenges in building aircraft carriers, experts said.
Rear Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong, a military strategist with the University of National Defense, told CNS in an interview Wednesday that by 2014, China will only possess one aircraft carrier, which is reconstructed from an old Ukrainian vessel; while the US, Japan, and India will have 11, 2, and 3 carriers, respectively.
Zhang again stressed that the vessel will be used for training purpose, and will not be a threat to any country.
"China has no experience in building large warships weighting tens of thousands of tons, and fighter jets need to be trained for landing/taking off on the carrier," he said.
