Will Shanghai island be training base for China's aircraft carriers?
Report of military build-up ignites speculation that Chongming Island could be used to prepare crews for naval warships
Construction is under way on a naval training base set to sprawl across more than 160 hectares on the mainland's second-biggest island, according to state media, prompting speculation that the site at the mouth of the Yangtze River could become a training base for aircraft carriers.
China Youth Daily reported on Friday that in 2012 the county government overseeing Chongming Island handed over a 167-hectare site to People's Liberation Army naval units stationed on the island.
The report said local authorities also mobilised a range of departments to carry out construction projects, including installation of water and power supplies, barracks, roads, buildings and other infrastructure for the new training base.
Chongming lies in the Yangtze estuary next to Changxing Island, the location of a shipyard belonging to the giant Jiangnan Shipyard Group, one of the companies reportedly involved in construction of China's first locally built aircraft carrier.
Military analysts said the navy was likely to use the base to train crews but not as a home port for the carriers.
Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said Chongming would probably serve as a naval air force training base and may well be a supply base for warships.