Chinese Navy's increasing strength to enhance protection of national sovereignty: spokesperson

BEIJING -- The growing strength of China's Navy, marked by the advent of a "three-carrier era," will enable the country to more powerfully safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, a mainland spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The commissioning of the aircraft carriers -- from the Liaoning and the Shandong to the Fujian -- represents a major achievement in strengthening national defense and the armed forces, said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, at a regular press conference.

"The arrival of the 'three-carrier era' constitutes a significant accomplishment in China's defense and military development, representing solid strides forward in the people's armed forces' advancement toward world-class capabilities," Chen said.

This enhanced capacity will serve to "safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and foil any forces or schemes that seek to violate or split China's sacred territory," Chen noted.

The spokesperson's remarks came in response to a media inquiry regarding the recent formal commissioning of the Fujian -- China's first aircraft carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults.

This vessel's entry into service, which has drawn significant attention in Taiwan, has been noted in some media reports as demonstrating the mainland's remarkable advances in both new quality productive forces and defense capabilities.