BEIJING Sat Jan 18, 2014 11:25pm EST
(Reuters) -
China is building its second aircraft carrier, which is expected to take six
years, and the country aims to have at least four such ships, Chinese and Hong
Kong media reports said on Sunday.
After two
decades of double-digit increases in the military budget, China's admirals plan
to develop a full blue-water navy capable of defending growing economic
interests as well as disputed territory in the South and East China Seas.
The
country's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning
- a Soviet-era ship bought from Ukraine
in 1998 and re-fitted in a Chinese shipyard - has long been a symbol of China 's naval
build-up.