Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun dismissed media reports saying that China is building a second aircraft carrier in Shanghai which will be launched late this year in Thursday's regular press briefing.
"Such reports are inaccurate. We will take into consideration national economic development, the needs of national defense and military construction when we make further plans for our carriers," Yang said at the news briefing, two days after China's first aircraft carrier Liaoning was commissioned to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.
He also said that China's carrier-based aircraft were developed from China's own aircraft with independent intellectual property rights.
According to Lan Yun, senior editor of the military magazine Modern Ships, the press briefing was lacking in information.
"Yang's answer to the second carrier was also ambiguous. He did not say which part of the report was inaccurate, so people can assume that China is building follow-up carriers, but only the second one will not be launched late this year, or it will not be built in Shanghai," he said. "Besides, the long-awaited announcement did not even mention the type of the carrier-based fighter."
Since the commissioning of the carrier Liaoning, speculation surrounding China's carrier-based aircraft has been on the rise, both in domestic defense forums and foreign media reports.
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