Carrier handed over to PLA as tensions climb

China's first aircraft carrier was handed over yesterday to the navy of the People's Liberation Army amid rising tensions over disputed waters in the East and South China Seas.

The handover ceremony of the 300-meter ship, a former Soviet carrier called the Varyag, took place in northeast Dalian after a lengthy refitting by a shipbuilder, the Global Times reported.

The announcement comes amid heightened tensions over maritime disputes in the region, where China's growing assertiveness has put it on a collision course with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Beijing confirmed last year it was revamping the old Soviet ship, and has insisted the carrier poses no threat to its neighbors and will be used mainly for training and research purposes.

But numerous sea trials of the aircraft carrier - currently only known as "Number 16" - were met with concern from regional powers including Japan and the United States, which called on Beijing to explain why it needs an aircraft carrier.

China reportedly bought the carrier's immense armored hull - with no engine, electrics or propeller - from Ukraine in 1998 and began to refit the vessel in Dalian in 2002.

The PLA, the world's largest active military, is extremely secretive about its defense programs which benefit from a huge military budget.

China's military budget officially reached US$106 billion (HK$826.8 billion) in 2012, an 11.2 percent increase.

According to a Pentagon report, Beijing is pouring money into advanced air defenses, submarines, anti-satellite weapons and anti-ship missiles that could all be used to deny an adversary access to strategic areas, such as the South China Sea.

China's real defense spending is between US$120 billion and US$180 billion, the report said.