China Will Name its First Aircraft Carrier ex-Varyag “Liaoning”: PRC State Media Portal
An official state media source reports that China will name its first aircraft “Liaoning” after the province that contains Dalian Naval Shipyard, where it has been refitted. An authorized government portal site, China Internet Information Center (China.org.cn) is published under the auspices of the State Council Information Office and the China International Publishing Group (CIPG) in Beijing.
Since ~2 September, Internet photos have shown the Chinese carrier with the hull number “16.”
As I told Robert Farley in March, Beijing would not name its first-ever aircraft carrier Shi Lang, as had long been rumored and cited by many Western writers. See Andrew S. Erickson, “Chinese Aerospace Power,” interview with Robert Farley, bloggingheads.tv, 20 March 2012. Go to minute 08:28 for aircraft carrier discussion; and to 09:18-11:56 for explanation of why China’s first aircraft carrier will NOT be named Shi Lang.
- Admiral Shi Lang (施琅), on behalf of the Qing dynasty, used ~300 warships and ~20,000 troops to defeat the Ming-loyalist Zeng family in the Battle of Penghu in July 1683.
- Admiral Shi’s victory enabled the Zheng family’s capitulation in September 1683 and Taiwan’s formal incorporation into the Qing polity, as a prefecture of Fujian Province.
- This was an historical first: neither the Ming nor any previous dynasty had ever attempted to incorporate Taiwan directly in to official mainland administration.
- Admiral Shi had previously advocated Taiwan’s integration into Qing administration.
- Because of Admiral Shi’s achievements in battle, and aggressive efforts to bring Taiwan under mainland administration, naming China’s first aircraft carrier after him would not send the right message for cross-Strait relations.
- Moreover, some sources claim that Admiral Shi’s post-war actions as an official vis-à-vis Taiwan were problematic.
- Finally, PLA Navy (PLAN) ship naming conventions suggest that ships are typically named after Chinese localities.
- The rare exceptions in which PLAN ships are named after individuals include training vessels (Deng Shichang and Zheng He) and research ships (Li Siguang), but not larger combat-operations-focused vessels.
- Since China’s first aircraft carrier will be its largest and most prominent warship, it would be logical to name it after one of the largest Chinese localities.
Pang Li, “China to Name its First Aircraft Carrier ‘Liaoning’,” China Internet Information Center, 10 September 2012, www.china.org.cn.
China will name its first aircraft carrier “Liaoning” in honor of the province where it was retrofitted, the Southern Metropolitan Daily reported, citing an authoritative source.
The paper confirmed that officials decided to name the carrier to commend the province where it was renovated and repaired, thus Liaoning.
The carrier, often referred to by its original name Varyag, is a retired Soviet-era vessel that China bought from Ukraine in the late 1990s. The carrier was later harbored in Dalian, Liaoning Province, where it was retrofitted.
The vessel began sea trails in August 2011 and on September 3 received the side designation “16,” prompting speculation that the vessel had completed basic trails and would soon be commissioned.
The carrier’s name has been a topic of interest for some time, and many netizens opined that it was likely to be named after Shi Lang, a well-known general during the Qing Dynasty, or the former leader Mao Zedong, or even the capital city of Beijing.
However, according to Chinese naval designation regulations, vessels can only be named after provinces, cities, counties, mountains or lakes, and not people.
China will officially announce the name of the vessel after it has been commissioned.
China.org.cn
China Internet Information Center
China.org.cn offers broad access to up-to-date news about China, with searchable texts of government position papers and a wealth of basic information about Chinese history, politics, economics and culture.
The authorized government portal site to China, China.org.cn is published under the auspices of the State Council Information Office and the China International Publishing Group (CIPG) in Beijing.
Other Chinese source:
记者从权威渠道获悉，我国首艘航母名字已经确定，将会以省份命名。
“瓦良格”号是这艘航母在乌克兰时的名字，按照惯例，中国将其改建后将为其重新命名。从去年7月官方正式宣布我国拥有航母以来，外界对航母名字存在各种猜测，不少网友认为将使用“施琅”号、“毛泽东”号、“北京”号等名字。但记者获悉，只有在航母真正服役后，官方才会公布最终名字。
而依据《海军舰艇命名条例》，我国海军舰艇命名的具体规则为，巡洋舰以行政省(区)或词组命名，驱逐舰、护卫舰则以大、中城市命名，猎潜艇则以县命名，补给舰则以湖泊命名，船坞登陆舰、坦克登陆舰均以山命名，扫雷舰是以州命名，步兵登陆舰是以河命名。训练舰可以人名命名。因此，航母以人名命名的可能性很小。
For further background on Chinese aircraft carrier development, see also:
Overall analysis offered in Andrew S. Erickson, Abraham M. Denmark, and Gabriel Collins, “Beijing’s ‘Starter Carrier’ and Future Steps: Alternatives and Implications,” Naval War College Review 65.1 (Winter 2012): 14-54.
Coverage of the ex-Varyag’s sea trials offered in Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, “China Realizes Carrier Dream,” The Diplomat, 10 August 2011.
The longer report on which that post is based is Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “China’s ‘Starter Carrier’ Goes to Sea,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 43 (9 August 2011).
An early assessment of the larger implications of China’s deck aviation development offered in Abraham M. Denmark, Andrew S. Erickson, and Gabriel Collins, “Should We Be Afraid of China’s New Aircraft Carrier? Not yet.,” Foreign Policy, 27 June 2011.
Relevant defense industrial factors discussed in Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “LNG Carriers to Aircraft Carriers? Assessing the potential for crossover between civilian and military shipbuilding in China,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 12 (18 December 2010).
Early assessment of Chinese aircraft carrier options laid out in Andrew S. Erickson and Andrew R. Wilson, “China’s Aircraft Carrier Dilemma,” Naval War College Review 59. 4 (Autumn 2006): 13-45.
For analysis on aircraft that may eventually fly off China’s aircraft carrier, see Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “‘Flying Shark’ Gaining Altitude: How might new J-15 strike fighter improve China’s maritime air warfare ability?,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 38 (8 June 2011).
For related analysis on drivers and constraints concerning Chinese deck aviation, see Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “The ‘Flying Shark’ Prepares to Roam the Seas: Strategic pros and cons of China’s aircraft carrier program,” China SignPost™(洞察中国) 35 (18 May 2011).
