The PLA Daily said (December 18) that induction of the first China-made aircraft carrier Shandong (Hull 17) to the PLA Navy on December 17, 2019, marked 5 breakthroughs. It listed these as, briefly: (i) it was independently designed by China, which realizes the historic leap from renovation to self-development of aircraft carriers and is a major milestone in China's warship construction history; (ii) it is the first time that an Asian country has an independently-built aircraft carrier after WWII. China built it in 6 years which is approx. the time it takes the U.S. and so the building of this carrier is already relatively fast; (iii) the commissioning of the domestically-built aircraft carrier gives China two carrier strike groups (CSGs) for the first time, making it the third country in the world after the US and UK. Chinese Naval expert and retired PLAN Captain Li Jie commented that the two CSGs will give a substantive boost to China's maritime combat capability. For regional conflicts of moderate intensity and above, especially in the medium and far sea operations, effective regional air and sea control can only be ensured by more than 45 carrier-based aircraft, which must require two CSGs. Li Jie added that thanks to the substantial changes brought by two carrier fleets, "China will be able to engage in battles in one or more strategic directions at the same time. Especially in medium and far sea waters, the carriers will have more space to exert themselves, including carrying out military operations other than war (MOOTW)."; (iv) the emergence of two CSGs leads to the simultaneous launch of two aircraft carrier bases, in the south and the north respectively; and (v) the commissioning of the domestically-made aircraft carrier in Sanya indicates China's deployment of aircraft carrier in the South China Sea for the first time. Analysts were quoted as saying that "deploying the new carrier in Sanya means it will play a critical role in safeguarding national maritime interests, as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea."
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