Beijing, July 12 (ANI): General Chen Bingde, Chief of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Staff, has confirmed that China is building an aircraft carrier to strengthen its grip on sea territory.
"Our American friends all know that China bought an old aircraft carrier, the Varyag, from Ukraine. It is very valuable for us to research these things this way," General Bingde was quoted as saying by The China Daily.
China is the last permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to get an aircraft carrier. Before acquiring Varyag, the country had bought three decommissioned aircraft carriers for the purpose of studying them.
"China is a big country and we have quite a large number of ships, but they are only small ships. This is not commensurate with the status of a country like China," General Bingde said.
In June, the Hong Kong Commercial Daily quoted General Bingde as saying, during his flight to the US that the construction of at least one aircraft carrier is 'under way, and not finished yet'.
General Bingde said having 11 aircraft carriers makes the United States 'a real world power', he said.
General Bingde was speaking at a news conference after holding talks with Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is on a four-day reciprocal visit to China after Chen's trip to the US in May.
Beijing is also reported to be developing the Dongfeng-21D, a ballistic missile with a maximum range of 2,700 kilometers and the ability to strike moving targets - including aircraft carriers - at sea. (ANI)
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