Strong navy guarantee for peaceful rise
The Chinese navy's deployment of its first aircraft carrier Liaoning in 2012 struck its US counterpart as an alarming sign of how ambitious China's navy was to strengthen its capabilities in the new century. So it is no surprise that the voyage of its first domestically built aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Straits to the South China Sea on the weekend should have attracted so much attention.
It is the carrier's ninth trial voyage since its first in May 2018. But it is the first time for it to sail through the Taiwan Straits to the South China Sea at the head of a carrier group, which may mean that it is about to enter service.
US and Japanese warships reportedly followed the unnamed vessel, "Type 001A", all the way, which has become their routine practice. And Taipei was reportedly keeping a close eye on it through the Straits, interpreting it as an attempt to intimidate the island's voters ahead of the January elections.
