on Tuesday in China was officially put into operation the newest aircraft carrier "Shandong", designed to strengthen the firepower of the country, faced with rising tensions with Taiwan, and the United States and its neighbors in the region disputed South China sea.
Chinese State broadcaster CCTV reports that the ceremony was attended by about 5,000 people who sang the national anthem while national flag.
Shandong was the first aircraft carrier completely Chinese production. The ship was launched in April 2017. It was built in 2013. The length of the carrier is 315 m, width 75 m, weight — 70 thousand tons, cruising speed 31 knot. Chinese media reported that on Board can be 36 fighters "Jian-15" (J-15). The first test voyage of the aircraft carrier was held 13-18 may of this year.
up To this point, China had only one aircraft carrier "Liaoning" - refurbished Soviet ship purchased from Ukraine and commissioned in 2012.
Commissioning of the second warship gives a ticket to China in exclusive club of Nations with multiple carriers. American analytical center reported in may that the latest satellite photos showed that the construction of another Chinese aircraft carrier is underway.
adding a third aircraft carrier to miss the China to the elite club of the world's naval forces, but it is still far behind the United States, which currently operate 10 "super carrier" nuclear class "Nimitz".
Chinese spending on defense is second only to the United States and earlier this year in the country, said they plan to increase them by 7.5% in 2019.
In March, Beijing announced that it will spend of 1.19 trillion yuan (177,6 billion) on defense in 2019, after increasing their spending by 8.1 percent to 1.11 trillion yuan in 2018, according to a government report presented at the beginning of the annual meeting of the national people's Congress (NPC).
Beijing builds up its military ambitions and in July outlined a plan of national defence to create a modern high-tech army.
