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| Ex-Varyag (Old File Photo) |
TAIPEI — Taiwan’s intelligence chief said May 21 that China plans to build two aircraft carriers, in addition to the first in its fleet, a refitted former Soviet carrier currently undergoing sea trials.
“Indeed the Chinese communists have decided to build two aircraft carriers on their own,” Tsai Teh-sheng, head of the island’s National Security Bureau, told parliament.
Tsai said construction of the warships is slated to start in 2013 and 2015, respectively, with delivery dates of 2020 and 2022, and that they would be conventionally powered.
Tsai said that since mid-2011, China had conducted six sea trials of its first carrier, and that Taiwan expected it to go into service before the end of this year.
“Initially it may simply serve for training purposes but it can be transferred for battles when necessary in the future,” he said.
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