China’s Second Aircraft Carrier Base In Hainan: What It Means For India? – Analysis ( Source- Eurasia Review / Author- D.S Rajan, SAAG)
Chinese Aircraft Carrier Liaoning ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- Eurasia Review Author- D. S Rajan / SAAG It is a known fact that the first aircraft carrier base of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is located at Dalian, in Liaoning province; the carrier ‘Liaoning’ was commissioned into China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy on September 25, 2012. Open information emanating from China now confirms the completion of construction of a second aircraft carrier base at Sanya, off Hainan Island. These events need examination from a broader perspective as they have potentials to generate questions of geo-political importance as in the following – how to contextualize the events in terms of changes happening in China’s naval strategy? What could be the likely implications of such changes for the military situation in the Asia- Pacific region which remains affected by an acute territorial contest between China and other nations in South and East China seas