The truth about aircraft carrier

Headlines like "China building second aircraft carrier" were recently splashed by some Western media outlets even after the Ministry of Defense spokesman called the speculation "inaccurate". This is nothing new. The Western media have always viewed China's defense system with suspicion.

China should ignore such tricks and continue to modernize its navy at the needed pace and decide on how many aircraft carriers it needs after taking into account all the necessary factors, including its national defense policy, strategic needs and economic capacity.

Nine countries have aircraft carriers. The United States, which has by far the largest fleet of aircraft carriers, plans to deploy six of them in the Pacific and four in the Atlantic. Russia has only one but is planning to build more, and the United Kingdom is building two Queen-Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers which could begin sea trials in 2017.