Building of China's 1st domestic carrier 'matter of time'+

CHANGXING ISLAND, China, Aug. 22 Kyodo -
Shipbuilding workers on Changxing Island just north of Shanghai have indicated
the start of building China's first domestic aircraft carrier is just ''a
matter of time.''
''Construction of the carrier will take place on dry dock No. 3,'' a worker at
the Jiangnan Shipyard on the island said, despite the Chinese government's
refusal to release a construction plan, which it calls a military secret.
''I'm a driver of an 8-ton truck,'' the worker told Kyodo News. ''I bring
construction material for an aircraft carrier into dry dock No. 3.''
Five super dry docks -- from No. 0 to No. 4 -- are located along a major street
running through the center of the island, which has an area of about 160 square
kilometers.
Of the five, the front gate of dry dock No. 3 looks the best made, with a large
security guard room attached. The name of the operator, Jiangnan Shipyard
(Group) Co., is inscribed on a stone sign.
Few people enter or leave the dock.
A round tower of more than 25 stories stands behind the gate, which locals say
the company's head office.
''Construction (of the carrier) has yet to begin,'' one worker said. ''About
3,000 workers are employed at dry dock No. 3, and workers at other docks have
no access to the dock.''
The man, who works at dry dock No. 2, said there are 3,000 to 4,000 workers at
his dock, which is building a civilian ship for a foreign client.
A residential quarter outside dry dock No. 4 holds more than 20 apartments.
Some are classier than the others, and locals say they are for senior Jiangnan
Shipyard officials and foreign engineers.
Ukrainian engineers who will apparently help build the carrier at dry dock No.
3 have begun moving into an ''apartment for Ukrainian experts,'' according to
Ping Kefu, a Hong Kong-based military analyst.
Ukraine has had carrier-building technology and skills since the Soviet-era.
A Chinese woman selling fruit near the apartment for the experts said she ''has
been seeing blond people since July,'' a comment underlining Ping's
observation.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Defense Department said in an annual report to
Congress on China's military power that the Chinese shipbuilding industry
''could start construction of an indigenous platform by the end of this year,''
referring to the development of a domestic aircraft carrier.
Once China starts building a carrier, there is no way it can hide such a move.
The rest of the world is closely watching when Beijing announces the start of
the construction.
==Kyodo
2010-08-22 16:59:58


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