Tuesday marks the third anniversary of the launch of the Fujian, China's first aircraft carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults. Official media said China is about to enter a three-aircraft-carrier era, with the Fujian expected to enter service by 2025.
After the launch of the Fujian on June 17, 2022, it carried out its first sea trial from May 1 to 8 in 2024. Since then, the Fujian has completed multiple sea trials, accumulating more than 100 days of sea trial, China Central Television (CCTV) News reported on Tuesday.
Wei Dongxu, a Chinese military affairs commentator, said that the aircraft carrier Fujian has been making steady progress in sea trials, and is expected to be commissioned within this year, CCTV News reported.
With a full displacement of more than 80,000 tons, the Fujian is the world's first conventionally powered aircraft carrier to feature electromagnetic catapult technologies, according to CCTV News. The report noted that it will carry a wide variety of carrier-borne aircraft, including fighter jets, early warning aircraft, anti-submarine aircraft and drones.
The Fujian is China's third aircraft carrier. In September 2012, China commissioned its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. The Shandong, China's second aircraft carrier and first domestically built, entered service in December 2019. Both the Liaoning and the Shandong utilize ski-jump ramps rather than catapults to assist aircraft takeoff.
Fu Qianshao, another Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times that since the Fujian uses advanced technologies such as electromagnetic catapults and is equipped with new aircraft such as the J-35 stealth fighter jet, may require longer testing periods than the Liaoning and Shandong. "But I personally think it is very likely that the Fujian will enter service in 2025," Fu said.
China's growing number of aircraft carriers, along with their increasingly advanced capabilities, contributes to peace and stability, Wei said.
Unlike the US-led Western naval system, which operates through a "gang-up" approach, using military alliances to form joint maritime forces for blockades and intimidation in regions like the Western Pacific, China's strengthening carrier force provides crucial strategic balance. It enhances self-defense capabilities while fostering greater peace, Wei said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier said that the treaty provides for various forms of bilateral cooperation.
The comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Iran has entered into force, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told Sputnik.
"It is already binding," Jalali said when asked about the date of entry into force of the agreement, as well as whether Iran had notified Russia of the completion of internal procedures.
He recalled that the treaty was ratified by both chambers of the Russian parliament, and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed it. At the same time, the document was ratified by the Iranian parliament, approved by the Guardian Council, and the president issued it as a law.
"Therefore, in both countries it currently has the form of a law and, naturally, has entered into force," Jalali said.
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Defying the United States threats, ministers from more than 30 nations have packed Bogotá’s San Carlos Palace to charge the Israeli regime with genocide over its October 2023-present brutal military assault against the Gaza Strip.
The dramatic display of international solidarity saw dozens of high-ranking officials from across the globe convene inside the stately palace on Tuesday, determined to hold the regime accountable for, what they unequivocally called, a “war of genocide.”
The two-day emergency summit, organized under the auspices of The Hague Group -- a coalition co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa -- had representatives, ranging from such countries as Algeria and Brazil to Pakistan and Spain, in attendance.
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