By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BEIJING (Worthy News) – Communist-run China is working on its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier after Chinese leader Xi Jinping told his army to prepare for war, several sources confirmed Tuesday.
Chinese documents and satellite imagery show that Beijing has already built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship, the latest sign that Beijing is advancing toward producing the nuclear-powered vessel.
It came after Worthy News reported last month that China’s president ordered his military to prepare for war, a move closely watched by the United States and its allies.
Xi Jinping commented while visiting a brigade of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force after Beijing staged large-scale military drills around Taiwan.
Communist-run China views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory and has condemned Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te as “separatist.”
According to experts, China’s navy is already the world’s largest numerically and has been rapidly modernizing.
Adding nuclear-powered carriers to its fleet would be a significant step in realizing its ambitions for a true “blue-water” force capable of operating in seas far from China in a growing global challenge to the United States.
“Nuclear-powered carriers would place China in the exclusive ranks of first-class naval powers, a group currently limited to the United States and France,” said Tong Zhao, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., in published remarks.
“For China’s leadership, such a development would symbolize national prestige, fueling domestic nationalism and elevating the country’s global image as a leading power.”
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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