JohnnyAdam – Kapal pengangkut
pesawat pertama China, 66,000 tan Liaoning, berjaya menamatkan siri ujian di Laut
China Selatan kawasan yang dipertikaikan, lapor media. Latih tubi telah
dijalankan di luar pantai Pulau Hainan dan menandakan kali pertama negara telah
menghantar pembawa ke Laut China Selatan, dan kali pertama seseorang telah
maneuvered dengan sekumpulan serangan kapal2 pengiring.
Televisyen
negara China mendedahkan bahawa Liaoning yang diapit oleh 2 kapal pemusnah, dua
kapal frigat, kapal terbang dan kapal selam semasa latihan. Ini ujian awam
terbaru datang sebagai China terus menggunakan kekerasan tentera laut yang
semakin meningkat untuk menyokong tuntutan mereka di kawasan yang kaya dengan
gas dan minyak di Laut China Selatan.
Berkembang
belanjawan ketenteraan di negara ini juga telah menimbulkan kebimbangan
pertempuran dengan negara-negara lain di rantau ini, termasuk Filipina dan
Vietnam. Tentera Laut Amerika Syarikat telah berkata bahawa USS Cowpens sempit
dielakkan berlanggar dengan sebuah kapal perang Cina mengiringi Liaoning semasa
beroperasi di perairan antarabangsa pada 5 Disember. China telah mendakwa
bahawa Cowpens telah “memberi AMARAN" operasi dan “sengaja” meletakkan
pesawat di bawah pengawasan.
China's first aircraft carrier completes
manoevres
in South China Sea . . .
China's
first aircraft carrier, the 66,000 tonne Liaoning, successfully completed a
series of tests in the disputed South China Sea region, state media reported.
The drills were carried out off the coast of Hainan Island and marked the first
time the country has sent a carrier into the South China Sea, and the first
time one has manoeuvred with a strike group of escort ships.
China
state television revealed that the Liaoning was flanked by two destroyers, two
frigates, aircraft and submarines during the drills. This latest public test
comes as China continues to use its growing naval force to back their claim of
rich areas of gas and oil in the South China Sea.
Growing
military budgets in the country have also raised fears of clashes with other
countries in the region, including the Philippines and Vietnam. The US Navy has
said that the USS Cowpens narrowly avoided colliding with a Chinese warship
escorting the Liaoning while operating in international waters on December 5.
China has claimed that the
Cowpens was "warned" of the operations and is
"intentionally" putting the aircraft carrier under surveillance.
Report by Laurie Blake.
