On 19 July, PLA’s Shandong Carrier Strike Group ended its ten-day deployment in the South China Sea. The carrier features an advanced type 346 S-Band Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar System for Target indication, Search operations (Air and Land), and Surface to Air missile guidance. The carrier can be offshore for six continuous days without refuelling, additionally, the carrier is powered by conventional oil-fired boilers driving the turbines. It features ski–jump take-offs for fighter jets combined with anti-submarine helicopters to fulfill secondary security missions. “China's objective with the deployment of the Shandong is clear, it is a symbol of its political anger” over U.S. engagement with Taiwan, said “Yoji Koda”, a retired admiral who commanded the Japanese fleet. The carrier’s presence symbolizes China’s will to protect its sovereignty amid maritime conflicts with Manila and growing tensions in the South China Sea, over the Philippines serving as a deterrent against perceived provocations on Chinese Island.
 
What is China’s ambition for its aircraft carrier?
China needs a fleet of aircraft carriers for maritime influence and therefore is building it at a breakneck pace. China's shipbuilding industry strengthens the building of carriers and propels it towards its maritime endeavors. China is planning to deploy six carriers by 2035, which would give China a fleet just over half the size of the American carrier force.

China aims for national transformation where it becomes a modern power with a “world-class military,” within one hundred years since the founding of the People's Republic of China under the Chinese Communist Party. Retired Cmdr. Michael Dahm of the US Navy, and Peter W. Singer, a strategist, wrote for “Defense One”, about the defeat at the Battle of the Yalu River in 1894, as well as the larger “Century of Humiliation,” which weighs heavily in the minds of the Chinese leadership and policymakers. These factors, combined with how long China wants to build aircraft carriers reflect national pride. China’s signing of a declaration of code of conduct over the South China Sea in 2002 and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 2003 with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) compelled Jiang Zemin the former General Secretary to China’s Communist Party (CCP) to assign the PLA’s Navy to take the Aircraft carrier initiatives as the primary mission for national integrity.
 
What are the challenges?
Despite unresolved issues, China is getting closer to realizing its aircraft carrier ambitions in terms of leadership endorsement, financial affordability, naval strategy, and requisite technologies. China is likely to develop medium-sized aircraft carriers in the medium term for near-sea missions and to gain operational experience so that it can develop larger carriers for far-sea operations in the long term. An aircraft carrier is not a solo-deploying ship. To be survivable in an intense combat environment, it needs escorts to protect it. While China has acquired new surface combatants with sophisticated anti-surface and anti-air capabilities, it continues to lag in Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). China is not expected to use its aircraft carriers against a first-class opponent with submarine capability. China is not expected to use its carriers in combat rather its usage would be restricted to smaller regional powers, who do not pose a significant submarine threat. Since the PLA’s Navy lacks overseas bases unlike the US, it is interesting to see what type of aircraft will suit the carrier program to showcase its supremacy.
 
What are the regional implications?
For regional conflicts short of full-scale warfare, a Chinese aircraft carrier has the potential to complicate seriously the calculations of competitors in the region. Only a few nations can stand up against the military capabilities of the Chinese PLA-N. The carrier would improvise in extending the air capabilities of the Chinese PLA-N without having bases overseas. During peacetime, the US Navy is unlikely to consider a Chinese carrier a threat, and it may perhaps even welcome Chinese responsibilities of maritime constabulary operations in counter-piracy. China’s acquisition of aircraft carriers offers more opportunities than challenges. Medium-sized carrier's use would be limited. They could be easily exposed and made vulnerable by their large profiles in limited operational space. Developing such carriers would also divert funding from building advanced submarines or advanced missiles that perhaps pose greater threats. Also, carriers could perform non-traditional security missions that are compatible with the goals of other navies in the Asia-Pacific region.
 

Reference:
Liu Xuanzun and Guo Yuandan, “Aircraft carrier Shandong spotted launching far seas drill amid China-Russia joint maritime patrol,” Global Times, 10 July 2024
Nan Li & Christopher Weuv, “China’s Aircraft Carrier Ambitions,” US Naval War College
“What do we know (so far) about China’s Second Aircraft Carrier,” China Power
“China deploys aircraft carrier off Philippine coast amid tensions over South China Sea,” The Economic Times, 01 July 2024