China admits aircraft carriers plan

The admission came as Beijing began to refit a former Soviet aircraft carrier for training purposes.

China is increasing its military spending just as the United States considers cutting its defence budget, though Washington still spends far more than China on security and is much more technologically advanced.

President Hu Jintao has made the navy a cornerstone of China's military build-up, and the carriers will be among the most visible signs of this.

"Two aircraft carriers are being built at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai," one source with ties to China's Communist Party leadership in Beijing said.

The defence ministry has only confirmed the existence of one carrier, bought from Ukraine in 1998 and once destined to become a floating casino.

That will be used for training and research purposes, ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said yesterday, seeking to reassure the world that China would adhere to a defensive strategy.

However, he said China reserved the right to protect its territory at land and sea.

"This is the sacred responsibility of China's armed forces," Mr Geng said. "Building a carrier is extremely complex. We are currently refitting an old aircraft carrier, to be used for research and testing. An aircraft carrier is a weapons platform; it can be used for offensive or defensive purposes. It can also be used to maintain global peace and for rescue and relief work."

While he gave no timetable for starting sea trials, he said pilots were being trained up. Sources said the ship is likely to be based in the southern island province of Hainan, near vital South China Sea trade routes.

The news comes as China has been flexing its muscles in those waters, where a territorial dispute with Taiwan and several nearby countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines, has festered for years.

Mr Geng said the timing "had nothing to do" with the tension there, though the message will be clear to many in Asia.

"China can now project its power to even further away from its coastline," said Alexander Huang, professor of strategic studies at Taiwan's Tamkang University. "That will have significant security implications to forces operating in the Western Pacific, including the US, Japan and Australia, so this is a watershed development."

Yoshihiko Yamada, a professor at Japan's Tokai University added: "China's next moves have to be watched carefully, or there could be a negative impact on maritime safety in Asia."

The old Soviet carrier's refitting has been one of China's worst-kept secrets. Pictures of it sitting in Dalian harbour have circulated on Chinese websites for months.Tim Huxley, director for defence and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, said: "It will be a long while before China develops a fully-fledged carrier capability, it will take a long time to train the necessary crews … it may be up to decade until China has carrier capability."

For Beijing, the rationale of an aircraft carrier is more than just about modernising a navy whose most notable engagements in recent years have been skirmishes in the South China Sea.

Sending naval vessels further afield, to the waters off Somalia to fight pirates, and through the southern Japanese islands, has also partly been about ensuring trade routes are protected.