China's two aircraft carriers complete training, sea trials: military spokesman

China's two aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong have completed routine training and sea trials, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defence said on Thursday.

China's two aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong have completed routine training and sea trials, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defence said on Thursday. The training was aimed at testing the performance of the aircraft carriers' weapons and equipment, improving the training level of such warships and honing the capabilities of personnel to fulfill missions.

Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defence, made the remarks during an online press briefing when asked about US media reports that the two Chinese aircraft carriers have performed maritime training missions at the same time to improve the capability of "Dual Carrier Operations". Liaoning, a refit of the Soviet-era ship which was commissioned in 2012, is already operational. The second indigenously developed carrier, Shandong is undergoing sea trials while the third one is under construction.

Official media reports say China plans to have six aircraft carriers. Shandong with a displacement of around 40,000-60,000 tonnes is bigger than Liaoning and could house 36 fighter jets compared to 24 by Liaoning besides helicopters, Chinese media reports earlier said.

China is building a third carrier which is projected to be even bigger with a displacement of 80,000 tonnes, the report said..