China's sole aircraft carrier arrived yesterday at its permanent base in the eastern port city of Qingdao, Shandong province, home to the navy's North Sea Fleet that oversees waters surrounding Japan and the Korean Peninsula, according to state media.
Li Jie, a researcher with the navy's military academy in Beijing, said that stationing the Liaoning in Qingdao could also put pressure on Japan, which is engaged in island disputes with Beijing in the East China Sea.
"But there is no direct link between the base and the disputes involving the Diaoyu Islands [known in Japan as the Senkakus]," Li said.
There were a number of reasons for stationing the Liaoning in Qingdao, he said.
"First of all, the Qingdao port is much deeper and wider for our carrier's future training operations, as it was designed as a training and experimental platform." He also noted Qingdao's proximity to a shipyard in Dalian , Liaoning province, where the vessel could conveniently undergo repairs.
Stationing the carrier in Dalian would not be ideal because the shipyard also serves as a busy civilian port.