Asia Times
Security, Asia
You make the call.
The Liaoning, Beijing’s first aircraft carrier, is a refurbished second-hand vessel. But, despite its inauguration in 2012, it appears the vessel’s genuine war-readiness is still in doubt.
Party mouthpieces have all refrained from using the carrier’s former name, Varyag – no surprise, given that the Liaoning was a rusty, semi-scrap hull from Ukraine before it was given a new lease of life (and renamed after the northeastern province where the ship underwent a seven-year refit).
The carrier has already become a new tool for Beijing to whip up patriotic fervour among the masses, as seen …read more
Source: The National Interest
