___CARRIER SHOWS CHINA'S MILITARY PROGRESSChina's carrier program got off the ground with the purchase of the Varyag, an incomplete carrier begun during the 1980s and then inherited by Ukraine after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. ___CARRIER AT HEART OF CHINA'S MILITARY AMBITIONSChina had long said it needs aircraft carriers to protect its shoreline and other maritime interests. Carriers also factor into China's threat to use force to gain control over self-governing Taiwan, from which it separated amid civil war in 1949. ___CARRIER RAISES CONCERNS AMONG NEIGHBORSApart from Taiwan, Chinese carriers are seen as a threat primarily by China's historical rivals Japan and India. Rather than a military threat, the carriers are more of an indirect challenge to U.S. influence in the region.

Source: Fox News April 26, 2017 08:26 UTC