Special Report:  China Marks 60th Anniversary of Navy

    BEIJING, April 25 -- The discussion on China's construction of its own aircraft carrier has again become lively with the upcoming activities marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.

    For a long time, the aircraft carrier was like a god in people's hearts. It is said whenever there was a crisis, the US President would ask, where are our aircraft carriers?

    For the Chinese people, a more distant memory can be traced back to the Amethyst incident before 1949 (the founding of People's Republic of China). On the Yangtze River, an inland waterway of China, when a skirmish broke out between a British warship and the PLA troops that were preparing to cross the Yangtze, Winston Churchill roared in London that Britain should send a couple of aircraft carriers to the Far East for retaliation.

    Thus, in many people's minds, the aircraft carrier has become a symbol of hegemony. There are so many considerations attached to an aircraft carrier. When news broke out that the China's Navy was going to develop its own aircraft carrier, all kinds of voices flooded people's ears. Foreign media were full of suspicion, asking the reasons why China wanted to build an aircraft carrier and, when the country were to have its own aircraft carrier, if it would behave like the powers in the old days to contend for maritime hegemony.

    Actually, the aircraft carrier is far from being as sacred as people imagine and it is also not inherently filled with evil. Like all other weapons, it is merely a tool.

    Since the aircraft carrier is just a tool, does China really need aircraft carriers?

    Actually, whether a tool is needed depends on the task at issue and the tool's efficiency. Can we imagine any other country that is a permanent member of the United Nations and has assumed significant responsibility to human society without an aircraft carrier?

    Among countries like China that have long sea coastlines, a huge marine territory and comprehensive maritime interests, are there any countries other than China that do not have aircraft carriers?

    Of course, whether the aircraft carrier will effectively protect a nation's sea rights and really exert its peace function depend on its utilization technique – no large power has ever been really able to extend its dominance over thousands of years, regardless of whether it has had aircraft carriers or not.

    Also, no country has been able to sit back and not worry about its maritime rights and interests just because of its aircraft carriers. Furthermore, as the aircraft carrier is a product of high technology and tremendous input, the decision to build aircraft carriers is also filled with risk.

    As a Chinese saying goes, the water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up. Once this principle is understood, it is easy to comprehend the long, arduous journey that China has taken to decide to build aircraft carriers. Likewise, the belief that Chinese aircraft carriers will emerge in front of people overnight is obviously naive.

    Whether aircraft carriers represent hegemony depends on the subjective wishes of its possessor.

    Hegemony has raged throughout the world even before the creation of the aircraft carrier. Even though Nazi Germany had no aircraft carriers, it still brought countless disasters upon mankind. The aircraft carriers in World War II furthermore were tremendous weapons for defeating the fascist armed forces.

    Nuclear weapons are also rather similar to aircraft carriers. At the beginning of China's development of nuclear weapons, some people also presented doubts and some expressed worries. Nevertheless, when the Chinese government possessed nuclear weapons, it immediately made a solemn pledge: In no instance will China be the first to use nuclear weapons, and in no circumstance will China use the threat of nuclear weapons against countries that do not possess nuclear weapons. For over 40 years, China has proved that it can keep its promise.

    However, some of the worriers and doubters from that time have consistently used their own nuclear weapons as a big stick to show off in every occurrence of war or crisis. Now, the countries that are most "concerned" about China's development of aircraft carriers are simply the ones that have the largest and greatest number of aircraft carriers and have made the most frequent use of their aircraft carriers. They are the ones that once were full of “worries” regarding China's development of nuclear weapons.

    The promise that China had given years ago has guaranteed that Chinese nuclear weapons have become a force for curbing nuclear war. Today, China's promise of peaceful development can also guarantee that Chinese aircraft carriers will always be peacekeepers. In that case, are the concerns of those who worry about China's development of aircraft carriers unfounded?

    From the prospective of the press, keeping track of Chinese aircraft carriers and the development process of Chinese aircraft carriers is quite normal. After all, it is indeed a very important news event that China, a country that has never possessed an aircraft carrier, develops its own aircraft carrier.

    However, there does not need to be excessive hype over the aircraft carrier, which has been around for a hundred years and which has been built, equipped, and utilized by many countries. In fact, aircraft carriers are very common, and so is China's development of the aircraft carrier.

    (Source: People's Daily Online)