Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) Officials of the Republic of China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) said that the ministry is closely monitoring news reports that Beijing is planning to build an aircraft-carrier.
The statement followed a report in Hong Kong's Ming Pao Daily News that the Beijing authorities will spend 4.8 billion renminbi to build a conventionally powered aircraft-carrier.
The MND officials declined to comment further on the report, saying only that the ministry keeps a close watch on Beijing's arms research and development.
According to the newspaper report, the Beijing authorities have already appropriated a budget of 1 billion renminbi, and the first stage of construction will begin at the end of this year, with completion slated for 2005.
Beijing began studying the feasibility of constructing an indigenous aircraft-carrier in 1992, in a project dubbed the 9985 project, and the final study was completed at the end of 1999, the report said.
The plan apparently is for a carrier with a displacement of 48,000 tons, powered by a Russian-made TB12 steam turbine engine. The ship will have a top speed of 30 knots. The report also claimed that Beijing's recent purchase of Russian SU-30 jet fighters worth US$2 billion was made in order to arm the carrier.
The paper also reported that Beijing has already trained more than 100 pilots able to take off and land from the aircraft-carrier's flight deck. (By Edward Chen)
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