Russian aircraft carrier Kiev to adorn Chinese theme park

BEIJING, June 5 (AFP) - 09:05 GMT - The former Russian aircraft carrier "Kiev," sold to Chinese entrepreneurs two years ago, will soon be the star attraction at a north China military theme park, a local official said Wednesday.

The former centerpiece of the Soviet navy will be put on display in a three square kilometer (1.2 square mile) park in the port city of Tianjin, some 150 kilometers (94 miles) southeast of Beijing, Zhao Wei, spokesman for the Tianjin Beiyang Maritime Pleasure Ground Co. said.

"We are continuing to do the administrative work," Zhao said, while refusing to reveal the date that the park, which will display a wide array of military weapons, would open.

The 24,000 ton Kiev measures 274 meters (904 feet) in length and 52 meters wide and was sold to a Chinese shipyard for 70 million yuan (8.4 million dollars) in 2000, Xinhua news agency said.

The Kiev was launched in 1972 at the height of the Cold War and was mothballed in 1994 along with two other aircraft carriers -- the Minsk and the Novorossisk -- which were sold to South Korea buyers for 4.5 million and 4.3 million dollars respectively.

The Minsk was later resold to a Chinese buyer and has been docked near southern China's Shenzhen city since 1999 where it has also become the main attraction of a military theme park.

Another old Soviet aircraft carrier, the Varyag, arrived in the northeastern Chinese port of Dalian at the beginning of the year and was reportedly being outfitted to become a floating casino in the former Portuguese colony of Macau, near Hong Kong.

However, a heavy security presence around the Varyag was leading to speculation that the ship could be destined for other, perhaps military purposes, the reports said.

Although the three aircraft carriers had been stripped of all military equipment, Western military experts said the ships could still aid China in developing its own carriers, the reports said.

I just hope that, 10-15 years from now, when they finally crank something out resembling a CV, that there's a 24-hour satellite TV channel showing Wang Wei's buddies trying to catch some wires on the deck...should be better than Comedy Central.

Or then again, they may have another use entirely in mind for the carrier, which might provide for a lot less TV entertainment for you, per following.

At least we shouldn't hgave to be concerned about their developing advanced nuclear warheads without another decade's worth of R&D_ oh- wait: they alrerady got the US W88 designs, didn't they...nevermind.

India: New Carrier May Become Nuclear Command Center
Defense News reports that India has prepared a detailed plan to establish a mobile nuclear command center on the "Admiral Gorshkov" aircraft carrier it is purchasing from Russia.
Supposedly included is a request for the Russians to build and integrate a mobile nuclear missile launcher on the ship, using a modified Agni missile. The total deal for the Admiral Gorshkov carrier could cost India over $2 billion for purchase, modifications, and equipment, plus another bilion or so for the aircraft.
India has been doing a lot of research on the Agni of late, and this would appear to be a way for the navy to bolster its importance by being seen as a nuclear player. I think that's probably a diversion from the Indian Navy's best strategic purpose. Then again, having a less-vulnerable component to India's nuclear command and delivery will lower the risk of nuclear war on the sub-continent.
Which is not a bad trade-off.
With the addition of 21 MiG-29K aircraft, navigation and carrier-landing aids, 12 P-500 Bazalt (SS-N-19 Shipwreck) anti-ship missiles and new control radars, the Admiral Gorshkov could make a very mobile and defensible command center that would be highly likely to survive any nuclear first strike by Pakistan or China.
Now let's talk about arms race dynamics, and some likely consequences.
If Defense News is right about the carrier's purpose, the importance of Pakistan's program to build those French Agosta-class attack submarines just went way up. Unfortunately, Al-Qaeda's recent car bombing in Karachi killed 11 French engineers working on that very project. Don't expect those submarines to arrive as scheduled in 2003 and 2005.
India, meanwhile, may have just put some very important eggs in a naval basket. Submarine defense thus becomes a major priority... which means an inevitable move toward a slimmed-down version of the USA's "Carrier Battlegroup" strategy. That means a central carrier protected by anti-submarine frigate and corvettes, air-defense ships, etc. It would be a big accelerator to the develoopment of the Indian Navy, and the Navy knows it.
Once that new direction is underway, it will also change some of India's power projection capabilities, and thus the diplomatic balances around Southeast Asia.
An Indian naval base at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam by 2010? Maybe.
It could be very timely if Indonesia were to distintegrate a few years hence, for instance... a very real possibility as al-Qaeda continues to expand its foothold there. Piracy is already a problem in that area, and the Australians have been hiring Canadian naval officers for a few years now in open anticipation of military action involving Indonesia. Should that scenario materialize, a USA-India-Australia alliance would be an effective bedrock for any coalition effort to contain any growth in Chinese influence, protect the shipping lanes, and deal with Abu-Sayyaf types on the islands. Recent US moves in the Philippines will also be helpful... more on those another day.
The British had a similar idea for a semi-important backwater a long time ago - I believe its realization was known as "The Monroe Doctrine".

The PRC may not intend to use the ship as a head-to-head confrontation tool vs. the US. As a propaganda tool or sign of power or credibility (within the immediate region, that is - i.e. if you're the only one in town with a car even if it is a refurbished Yugo, you look better than everyone else) it may serve its purpose. See the Jamestown article linked on post #3. The writer does a fairly good job of evaluating the chances or legitimacy of the Varyag being used. Unfortunately, I've been in areas where a trashy beat up car was a sign of power and wealth (it was laughable to me and others, but the locals went for it).
I would also assume the PRC wouldn't dump cash into something that would just be used as a status symbol, but then again, were are talking about the PRC...
Nevertheless I think it's worth keeping an eye on what they're up to with these ships...especially if Wang Wei's cousin is the captain of the ship.

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