Implications of China`s 1st aircraft carrier

China`s first aircraft carrier embarked on its inaugural sea trial on Wednesday. The 67,500-ton conventional aircraft carrier called the Varyag can accommodate 1,900 crewmen and 52 aircraft. China purchased an unfinished aircraft carrier from Ukraine for 20 million U.S. dollars in 1998 and remodeled it for active use. Though Beijing says its long dream of becoming a sea power has come true, the massive vessel in the eyes of its East Asian neighbors is a factor that destabilizes military balance in the region. China’s development of the aircraft carrier could shake up the balance of power even in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

In a military sense, possession of an aircraft carrier is the same as moving a rear area airfield to the frontline. If China puts on the carrier Su-33 fighter jets with a combat radius of up to 800 kilometers and deploy the vessel to the Yellow Sea, almost all of Korea’s territorial airspace will fall into its operational radius. China insists that the vessel is for defense, but it is meaningless to define the vessel as offensive or defensive. Beijing itself considers foreign aircraft carriers a direct threat to its national security. When South Korea and the U.S. were moving to conduct joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea involving a U.S. aircraft carrier in an attempt to prevent North Korea from making further military provocations after the North’s artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island last year, China strongly protested the plan.

As the world’s second-largest economic power, China will likely accelerate its military buildup. Last year, Beijing spent 78 billion dollars on national defense, the world`s second-biggest military budget after the U.S. and up 14.9 percent from a year earlier. The U.S. Defense Department estimates that China’s defense budget will likely reach more than double what is officially announced. In emerging as a threat to neighboring countries, Beijing plans to build two 48,000- to 64,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier by 2015.

A Chinese flotilla carrying some 100 Chinese naval cadets visited Wonsan, North Korea, holding huge implications for South Korea’s national security. The flotilla sailed through the East Sea to North Korea via Vladivostok. Chinese aircraft carriers before long could be making trips to the North to flex their muscles toward South Korea and Japan.

South Korea alone will find it hard to stave off China’s military expansion, which will fundamentally shake up the security framework of Northeast Asia. Beijing’s military buildup reminds Seoul of the need to maintain and further strengthen its alliance with Washington. A naval base is needed on Jeju Island to prepare for China’s possible expansion to the Pacific Ocean. The construction of the base began last year after many difficulties but has been suspended due to a small number of opponents who rushed to the site to protest. Leftist activists warn that the naval base will provoke China and invite a crisis. One wonders what they say about the Chinese aircraft carrier. Failure to properly respond to changes in the national security environment could put South Korea in jeopardy.