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| The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning |
International Military - China can be said as a country that is quite productive in producing weapons. Besides having many friends, China also has many enemies from other countries. Currently, it is the US, which also supports other Asian countries to take part in fighting China.
So far, China has been quite arbitrary with its claim that it recognizes the territory of another country as part of its territory. Quoted from the Eurasian Times, a US Navy commander said that China's Liaoning aircraft carrier, which is a symbol of the country's strength, has limitations in its operation.
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The disclosure includes detailed images of China's aircraft carrier Liaoning taken from the guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin during a close encounter in the disputed South China Sea last year. He revealed at the Surface Naval Association's annual conference that US crew members realized that at some point all Chinese escorts were sort of backing down because of some of the operating restrictions they had around the carrier.
A former instructor at the Taiwan Naval Academy in Kaohsiung said, "Liaoning may be busy with complex exercises, allowing US officers to take photos". Meanwhile, Song Zhongping, a former Chinese military instructor, argued that the PLA was following a pre-planned shipping routine, but the operational parameters of the American crew were more flexible.
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The Liaoning itself is a Chinese Type 001 aircraft carrier that was deployed in 2012. The Liaoning is the PLAN's first surface power carrier. The ship was named Varyag in 1990.
The Liaoning was originally designed for the Soviet Navy as a "large cruiser carrying aircraft". In 1998, a Chinese tourism operator purchased an incomplete hull, and three years later, the ship was towed from Ukraine to China, where it underwent major hull, radar and electronics modernization.
The Liaoning air wing marks a substantial step forward in air capability for the PLAN, although, like the carrier itself, it has limitations. The aircraft aboard the Liaoning are capable and modern, though largely limited by the ship's launch mechanism.
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The carrier's air wing includes 24 Shenyang J-15 fighters, six Changhe Z-18F anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters, four Changhe Z-18J air early warning helicopters and two Harbin Z-9C rescue helicopters.
This combination of aircraft was in keeping with the Soviet carrier doctrine, which called for providing support for nuclear submarines, large surface combatants, and land attack bombers to be supported by aircraft carriers. The Liaoning Air Force suffers from a lack of training and manpower experience compared to other countries.
In November 2012, Chinese carrier pilots began training on board, and the PLAN qualified its first air wing of a domestically trained J-15 pilot in 2015.