Launch of new carrier highlights China's bid to tip balance in the Pacific

The launch of the Type 003 carrier confirms both the scale of Chinese industrial capability and the scope of their ambitions to build a ‘blue water’ navy capable of operating globally,” said Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at RUSI, a U.K.-based think tank specializing in defense, security and international affairs. ...RUSI’s Bronk pointed out that China is now fielding a range of aircraft and weapons designed to hunt down U.S. Air Force and Navy assets in the Indo-Pacific, such as the fifth-generation J-20A stealth fighter and the long-range PL-15 missile, along with the “carrier killer” DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile.