The Chinese Aircraft Carrier Shilang
The Chinese newest aircraft carrier, Shi Lang, was bought from the Ukraine, Russia, after the fall of the USSR in the late 90's. At that time, China for $20 million dollars, got the completed hull of the ship and little else. It had to be towed all the way to China, which in itself is a story. When it finally arrived at Shanghi, the Chinese began the slow process of making it complete with a variety of weapons. It is now almost ready for a debut after 15 yrs or so, in a few months. The name, Shi Lang, could be simply a political move or a warning of things to come. Shi Lang, was a famous admiral in the Chinese Navy during the 17th century and was able to conquer the last of the Ming dynasty that held what is now Taiwan. China has always claimed it was theirs and promises to reunite them to the mainland, not far off. It was in 1949, that many Chinese fled to Taiwan to avoid China's ruthless dictator, Mao.
With an aircraft carrier, China will be able to exert more threatening postures and it also acts a nationalistic fervor. But, the carrier is usually surrounded by many other ships to ward off danger in a Task Force because the carrier is usually an easy target. It will interesting to see how China uses it once it is operational.