Asian powers' carrier craze
Trefor Moss says while Japan, India, China and Russia are busy beefing up their naval power to boost national pride, at least no one seems to be edging ahead. And that's good for regional peace
Aircraft carriers have become the ultimate accessory for Asia's aspiring powers. If you have one - or, even better, a collection - then you're in the big-power club; if you don't, you're still just toiling in the minor leagues of world affairs. Even so, the regional carrier competition has reached a new level of intensity of late, as Japan, India and China (kind of) unveiled new ships within days of each other.
China only half counts because it wasn't a complete aircraft carrier that came to light in a series of long-lens photos splashed across the wonkier parts of the internet; rather, it was a section of one under construction at a Shanghainese shipyard. But it was still an important revelation - proof that China's first indigenous carrier is taking shape and that PLA Navy commanders are getting closer to realising their own briny version of the China Dream, namely a fleet of carriers capable of projecting power around the world.
China already has one carrier, the Liaoning, but it's an old ship originally built by the Soviet Union. Having a brand new carrier, and most importantly one you constructed yourself, bestows a whole new level of prestige.
India has generally struggled to keep pace with China's rapid military modernisation, but in terms of aircraft carriers it actually has its nose in front. The Indians launched their first indigenous carrier, INS Vikrant, last week. For all the national fanfare, the ship is far from complete, and won't enter active service for at least five years.
No matter: India should retain its naval edge over China, at least for now (since no one really knows how many carriers Beijing ultimately plans to build). New Delhi already has one active carrier, an ancient ex-Royal Navy ship, while a second, a one-time Soviet carrier similar to China's, should be in the Indian Navy's hands by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, Japan's biggest warship in seven decades was being launched in Yokohama - the helicopter carrier Izumo, the third in a series of four such light carriers that Tokyo currently plans to build. Unlike the Chinese and Indian carriers, Izumo is not designed as a floating airstrip for fighter jets; it has a less-threatening complement of 14 helicopters instead.
Out of the three, Japan's approach is the most elegant. Operating in a peacetime, post-Fukushima world, Izumo's most important mission will be disaster relief: it has a huge cargo hold in which to transport emergency supplies, and the helicopters with which to deliver them to inaccessible, stricken areas. In peacetime mode, Izumo also operates well within the confines of Japan's pacifist constitution.