China is building a new ship and it's huge. According to IHS Jane's Defense Weekly, a large ship is under construction in the Dalian shipyards in northern China. And nobody is really sure what it is.
Imagery taken by an Airbus commercial spy satellite has spotted an unfinished hull in the dry dock formerly used to outfit China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. The hull appears to be approximately 240 meters long and 35 meters wide, and Jane's cautions that the final overall length will probably be at least 270 meters.
There are two possibilities for the hull. One, that it's an aircraft carrier. Liaoning is now seen as strictly a training carrier, training crews and pilots for future ships and helping the Chinese Navy produce the proper tactics, techniques, and procedures.
This corroborates a report by the Taiwanese Defense Ministry that China has two aircraft carriers under construction, one in Shanghai and the other in Dalian. Another report states that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited a carrier under construction in Dalian last August and that the carrier, known as "Type 001A", would be launched on December 26th on the 122nd anniversary of Mao Zedong's birth.
A 270 meter long carrier would be about the size of the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle. De Gaulle has a displacement of 42,000 tons and can carry up to 40 aircraft. Such a carrier is less than half the size of an American Ford-class carrier.
Another possibility is that it is the first of the anticipated Type 081 class amphibious assault ships. The Type 081 ships will feature a full length flight deck, a hangar to support transport helicopters, living spaces for up to 2,000 Chinese marines, and a floodable deck designed to dock landing craft. China is rumored to want at least four Type 081 ships.
Whatever the hull ends up becoming, a ship that large won't be a homebody. The ship will be an important part of China's power projection capability, enforcing China's new territorial claims and protecting Chinese interests.