The saber-rattling in the South China Sea is intensifying – and is unlikely to abate with the return of Donald Trump as US president. China, which claims large swaths of sea off the coasts of Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines and dreams of reunification with the ‘breakaway province’ of Taiwan, has now dispatched two aircraft carriers for the first time in a large-scale exercise. But Taiwan is prepared.
China currently has only two operational aircraft carriers: the Liaoning, which entered service in 2012, and the aircraft carrier Shandong, which was added in 2019. It’s Soviet technology: the Liaoning was initially called Riga, then Varyag – and was under construction in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. China bought the unfinished carrier at auction through Ukraine’s front company and later completed it. As a result, the Admiral Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier also served as a template for the Liaoning. The Chinese aircraft carriers each house a squadron of J-15 fighter jets from Shenyang, which in turn are based on the Soviet Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker. A week ago, both aircraft carriers set out for an exercise with ten escort ships. A show of force towards neighboring countries and Taiwan. But the democratically governed island republic has an antidote ready – years earlier than expected.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
