Chinese military experts Thursday said the country, surrounded by foreign aircraft carriers, must have aircraft carriers to safeguard national security and development.

The undated photo shows the imported aircraft carrier body is refitted. China's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that the country is making use of an imported aircraft carrier body for refitting to be used for scientific research, experiment and training.[Photo/Xinhua]

The Chinese government on Wednesday confirmed that the country was refitting a Soviet-era aircraft carrier.

Military experts interviewed by Xinhua on Thursday said China is surrounded by foreign aircraft carriers and other large-tonnage warships cruising in the waters it faces.

Currently, China is the only nation among five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council that does not have an active-service aircraft carrier.

"The U.S. operates 11 carrier battlegroups and has deployed six of them to the Pacific region," said Real Admiral Yin Zhuo, director of the Expert Consultation Committee of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.

China's neighbors such as India and Russia also have carriers and continue developing their weapon systems, while Japan and the Republic of Korea have acquired large-tonnage warships which could be used as aircraft carriers depending on if they can purchase the vertical landing F-35B jets, Yin said.

"Other countries should not be surprised by China's refitting of a carrier for training purposes," said Li Jie, a researcher with the PLA Navy's Academic Research Institute.

India, for instance, was the first country in Asia to have a carrier after World War II. It bought the British HMS Hercules in 1957 and renamed the carrier Vikrant. In 1986, India bought another British carrier HMS Hermes and refitted it to its current active-service INS Viraat.

In 2004, India continued its purchase of foreign carriers with the acquisition of the Russian decommissioned Admiral Gorshkov. One year later, the country started building its indigenous carrier scheduled to come into service in 2014, according to Li.

The researcher noted that the USS George Washington, perhaps the closest carrier to China, is now forward-deployed at Yokosuka base in Japan.

In addition, China also faces several large-tonnage warships which have combat effectiveness equivalent to light aircraft carriers, Li said.

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force currently has two 18,000-metric ton Hyuga-class helicopter carriers, although the warships are classified by Japan as "helicopter destroyers."

Yin said the PLA navy's current defense capability could not answer the requirements of its missions.

"The navy's aviation forces and ships can not form a coordinated power in the high seas," Yin said, adding that the navy learned from task forces deployed to the Somali waters and Libya that an aircraft carrier is a must to better protect national security and interests.

"China's pursuit of an aircraft carrier will not pose a threat to other countries, and the Western nations should accept and be used to the reality that we are developing the carrier."

Du Wenlong, a researcher with the PLA's Academy of Military Science, said that refitting an imported carrier for research and training is just like making a draft for an article.

"The draft might be totally deleted in the future, but its value for reference is irreplaceable," Du said, noting that the most valuable treasure of the refitted carrier is help the PLA build a carrier battlegroup and how to use such vessels.

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