Recently, there has been an eye-catching news in the Taiwan media: the mainland will build two 100,000-ton nuclear aircraft carriers at the same time. Is this news credible? Let's find out first.
According to reports, the construction of the two nuclear aircraft carriers, numbered 20 and 21, respectively, at the Jiangnan Shipyard and the Dalian Shipyard, is a Type 004 aircraft carrier. Even more exciting, the two carriers may feature a new generation of thorium-based molten salt nuclear reactor technology, which is safer and produces less nuclear waste than traditional nuclear reactor technology.
However, we should not be blindly optimistic about this. First of all, this information has not been officially authenticated, and there is no conclusive evidence of its authenticity. There is a contradiction between the aircraft carriers with the number 20 and 21 mentioned in the Taiwan media report and the existing aircraft carriers with the number of the ship, so further verification is needed. Secondly, the construction of nuclear aircraft carriers is not an easy task, although China has mastered the technology of a new generation of nuclear reactors, the construction of aircraft carriers still requires adequate preparation and time.
China's aircraft carrier construction has always had its own schedule. Since the beginning of the reconstruction of the "Varyag", China has been steadily developing the technology of aircraft carrier construction. In 2012, the Liaoning was officially listed and became the first aircraft carrier of the Chinese Navy; Seven years later, China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Shandong, was delivered. Next, there is the Fujian ship that uses electromagnetic catapult technology. China's aircraft carrier construction has always been at its own pace, steadily advancing.
But we should not blindly pursue quantity and speed. The construction of aircraft carriers needs to take into account the actual situation and technical level, and it is not possible to pursue only quantity and ignore quality. Therefore, we need to look at this news rationally and wait for further official announcements. We believe that China's aircraft carrier construction will definitely follow its own pace, take more solid steps, and make greater contributions to safeguarding China's maritime rights and interests.